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Carbon Credits,
America is on the verge of adopting the same “Cap and Trade System” that is currently used in Europe and Japan to reduce industrial pollution. This is a market based program that requires public and private companies that negatively impact the environment to purchase Carbon Credits from operations that positively impact the environment.
Companies that use fossil fuels such as utilities, factories and Pulp and Paper Mills, are assigned limits on the amount of Green House Gases / Carbon Dioxide (CO2) they are allowed to release into the atmosphere. When Cap and Trade is imposed these emissions are “capped” at 2009 levels, and the facility must then reduce the amount of Carbon Emissions down to 1990 levels within a certain time period . Since emission reduction systems are expensive and equipment updates to energy systems are too costly, Corporations are allowed to “trade” or pay others for stored carbon. (One Carbon Credit represents one ton of sequestered carbon).These Carbon Credits are used to “offset” or negate any Carbon Dioxide that is released in excess of the allowed amount. This generates a new revenue stream for the land owner that is designed to keep environmentally beneficial projects viable and expanding. Industry experts have estimated the Carbon Trading Market to be between $1-$3 Trillion dollars a year in the next 10-12 years.
The Yellow Pine Trees that we have in the Southeast consume more carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and release more oxygen than almost any other type of tree. The more healthy trees you have that are consuming CO2 the better it is for the environment. Pine Tree Farms help reduce the level of GHG’s in the atmosphere through capturing and storing CO2 in soil and trees. This process is called “carbon sequestration”. What's more, most tree farmers can benefit by selling carbon credits, and profit from the implementation of conservation practices that promote carbon sequestration on their land.
Using the Georgia Carbon Sequestration Protocol, developed at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Yellow Pine species in the Southeast such as Loblolly, longleaf and slash, are calculated to store between three and six tons of Carbon per acre / per year. Because of the Tree Farms and biomass being grown in the Southeast we have one of the greatest Carbon Storage (or Carbon Sinks) in the US. Similar protocols will be developed for conservation tillage and urban forestry in the future. |
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