February 26, 2008
Contact:
Vanessa Vaughan, The Conservation Fund, 703.908.5809
Mendocino County, CA – The Conservation Fund announced today the record sale of 200,000 tons of certified forest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions to Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s ClimateSmart program. The emissions reductions will be generated over the next five years through sustainable forestry on Garcia River Forest, which The Conservation Fund owns and manages.
PG&E has agreed to purchase CO2 emissions reductions as part of its ClimateSmartTM program, in which enrolled customers pay a separate amount on their monthly energy bill, based on their calculated energy use. The company invests 100% of this customer payment in environmental projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Conservation Fund’s Garcia River Forest is the largest – and one of the first forest-based projects supported by ClimateSmart.
The Conservation Fund harvests Garcia River Forest less aggressively than is allowed by California’s stringent environmental regulations. Because of this limited harvest, the Fund can sell excess carbon stored in protected trees, in the form of carbon emissions reductions. Currently, that excess is about 77,000 tons of CO2 per year. Trapping these CO2 emissions is the equivalent of taking 14,000 cars off the road every year. Including PG&E’s purchase, The Conservation Fund is finalizing forest-based sales of carbon emissions reductions totaling more than 500,000 tons over time.
“These investments mark a major milestone in the use of high quality forest sequestration offsets as an effective mechanism to address climate change,” said Nancy McFadden, senior vice president of public affairs for PG&E. “We’re honored to be making these purchases on behalf of our ClimateSmart customers. Through their commitment to the environment, we’ve been able to sequester a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions and protect some of California’s most precious resources.”
Earlier this month, the California Climate Action Registry verified Garcia River Forest as a source of carbon credits. By achieving the Registry’s high standard of carbon verification, Garcia River Forest now offers the nation’s most rigorously evaluated carbon credits to private companies and public organizations seeking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. PG&E will retire the reductions on behalf of its enrolled ClimateSmart customers – thereby deriving no benefit from the offset purchase. In addition, The Conservation Fund has begun the process of certifying carbon emissions reductions on other recently purchased forests near the town of Mendocino.
“Conservationists, corporations and communities alike are awakening to the need to conserve forests as an important way to fight climate change,” says Chris Kelly, California director for The Conservation Fund. “Today’s sale to PG&E represents the kind of innovative action necessary to encourage investment in forests as a response to global warming. And because forests not only trap greenhouse gases but can also provide wildlife habitat and protect water quality, this is both an environmental and economic win and a model for forestland conservation nationwide.”
Because trees absorb CO2, their loss through deforestation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, linked to climate change. Scientists estimate that deforestation accounts for roughly 20% of emissions worldwide. As a result, forests are valuable carbon banks and tools to fight climate change.
To create a viable and reliable market for carbon credits in California and increase consumer confidence in forest-based carbon projects, the California Climate Action Registry has developed some of the most rigorous and comprehensive protocols in the country that provide a standardized method to accurately account for changes in carbon in forest projects. In 2007, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) formally adopted those protocols, establishing a clear role for forestry in the state’s climate policy and adding economic value to forest carbon projects.
"These carbon sales add credibility and legitimacy to the growing forest carbon market in California and beyond; proving that forests play a key role in combating climate change." said Louis Blumberg, director of California forest and climate policy for the Nature Conservancy.
Roughly 100 miles north of San Francisco, the Garcia River Forest is a 24,000-acre expanse of redwoods and Douglas firs. The Conservation Fund owns and manages the property as a sustainable working forest, benefiting both the environment and the local economy. The Nature Conservancy holds a conservation easement on the property, which ensures permanent protection of the forest’s varied natural resources. The Fund harvests trees significantly below the maximum amount legally allowed by California forestry regulation. It is this sustainable management practice that provides “additionality” by trapping more CO2 in the trees than would normally be trapped with allowable harvest levels. This additional salvaged CO2 is sold as certified emissions reductions credits, calculated by independent auditors and verified through the Registry.
View Garcia River Forest Facts>>
Note: This release has been updated since its original publication.
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