The renewable asset management group, Natsource LLC, is the first company to invest in certified, forest-based carbon emissions reductions under California rules adopted last year.
Natsource announced yesterday that it bought 60,000 tons of carbon emissions reductions on behalf of its clients from a private forest owner represented by the Pacific Forest Trust (PFT).
The emissions reductions were created through sustainable forestry on a permanently conserved property in California and were the first to be commercially traded under the Forest Protocols adopted last fall by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The Protocols are the first rigorous governmental accounting standards in the U.S. for climate projects embracing forest management and avoided deforestation.
"Today marks a significant milestone for the recognition of the real benefits of conserving and managing U.S. forests to enhance their climate contributions," announced PFT president Laurie Wayburn. "We are hoping that deals like this will provide policymakers around the world with the confidence they need to ensure that forestry becomes part of the solution to address climate change."
The CO2 emissions reductions purchased by Natsource clients were created by PFT’s Van Eck Forest Project, in Humboldt County, CA, that uses the CO2 storage capabilities of a working redwood forest. Owned by the Fred M. van Eck Forest Foundation, the 2,200-acre forest is permanently protected by a conservation easement. It is managed by the Pacific Forest Trust to increase carbon stores, restore biodiversity and produce sustainable timber supplies.
The revenue from the purchase of some of the emissions reductions already generated by this project will help finance the ongoing forest stewardship activities that will enable the forest to remove an estimated 500,000 more tons of CO2 from the atmosphere than would otherwise occur over the next 100 years–all while still supplying substantially the same volume of wood products from the property that would have been harvested under conventional management, the PFT says.
Carbon sequestration is enhanced on the Van Eck Forest by preventing business-as-usual logging of all the substantial volume of standing timber on the property and by ensuring that selective harvest practices remove less timber volume than is grown, allowing carbon stores to permanently increase, according to the PFT.
"Until now, forest sequestration has been an untapped asset in the effort to address climate change," said Jack Cogen, CEO of Natsource. "Forestry can and should be an important part of the portfolio of climate change solutions moving forward. This deal illustrates that when rigorous, clear rules are adopted, these investments can reduce costs for our compliance customers and provide what we believe are attractive investment opportunities."
The Van Eck Forest Project’s emissions reductions are calculated using the scientific accounting standards of the Forest Protocols. These calculations have been registered with CCAR after independent third party certification by SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, working with Scientific Certification Systems, the leading U.S. forestry certification company. Project data is available to the public from CCAR.
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