| 概述 |
Executive Summary
Southern U.S. forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
and store it in the form of carbon in leaves, roots, branches, trunks,
soil, and woody debris and other plant litter through a process
known as "carbon sequestration." Through this process, southern
forests and other woodlands play a role in regulating Earth’s
climate and moderating the effects of global climate change. Emerging voluntary and compliance markets often have provisions
for greenhouse gas emission reductions or emissions avoided by
preventing forest conversion or changing forest management practices.
These reductions or avoided emissions are considered "forest
carbon emission reductions." A "forest carbon offset" is a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent
(CO2e), the emission of which is avoided or newly sequestered
and is purchased by greenhouse gas emitters as a cost-control
mechanism to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere.
Four types of forest carbon offset projects exist---reforestation,
afforestation, forest conservation/avoided conversion, and improved
forest management. Forest carbon offsets can create an incentive for southern woodland
owners to engage in land management practices that retain or
restore forests and bolster forest carbon sequestration capacity. Forest carbon offset projects must meet a number of quality
criteria if they are to become credible, eligible for markets, and
financially feasible for southern woodland owners. The main quality criteria include: assurance that the offset is real (including
handling the issue of negative leakage), additionality/surplus, verifiability, permanence, and enforcement. Recently, a number of carbon offset standards have emerged that
adhere to these quality criteria. These standards provide a detailed
list of offset project eligibility requirements, or "protocols," as well
as methods for quantifying and verifying a project’s net emissions
impact. These standards seek to provide consistency in determining
offset eligibility and quantification, improve offset credibility,
and lower transaction costs for offset providers. At present, from the financial standpoint of many southern woodland
owners, income from forest carbon offsets alone is likely insufficient
to outcompete real estate development. However, depending
on landowner management goals and circumstances, income
from forest carbon offsets might be sufficient in some instances to
help pay incremental costs of sustaining forests, such as property
taxes or sustainable forest management certification. Forest carbon offset markets, like all other markets, require robust
demand, adequate supply, and good transactional infrastructure. In
light of these three conditions, southern woodland owners can take
several initial steps to explore and prepare for existing and upcoming
markets: (1) monitor market demand for forest carbon offsets,
(2) conduct a solid forest inventory to assess the potential to supply
forest carbon offsets, (3) engage in project development, and (4)
enroll in a credible offset registry.
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