British Columbia seeks to Invest in Forest Carbon offsets

CARBON TRUST LOOKS TO INVEST IN FOREST OFFSETS
The Pacific Carbon Trust has released a request for information to develop forest-based carbon offsets, marking the first major step toward positioning B.C. forests as a key supplier in the global carbon market, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.

British Columbia is already world-renowned for its efforts on reforestation. BC currently has an opportunity to increase the amount of carbon their forests sequester, and harness the economic potential of carbon offsets,This move is expected to strengthen the forest sector and the communities that depend on it and will remove more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and help in meeting our climate change goals.

The request for information will gauge interest in projects based on three types of silviculture investments: creating more forests through afforestation, planting seedlings grown from superior seeds, and fertilizing. The goal is to increase the number of trees and improve their volumes and growth rates to make them more efficient at sequestering carbon.

Projects can be located on privately owned land – including property held by local governments and First Nations – as well as Crown land managed under area-based tenures, such as tree farm licences, woodlots and community forests. A request for qualifications and proposals will follow later this year.

The Trust chose afforestation, use of superior seeds and fertilization for its first round of offset procurements because the results are more easily measured and verified. Additional forest-based projects are expected as more methods for quantifying carbon sequestration are developed.

This is being seen as an opportunity to develop innovative carbon-offset projects that will create jobs and generate revenue while being mindful of our planet’s health.According to the BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen this move is expected to help BC meet its overall goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020.

The Pacific Carbon Trust is a Crown corporation established under the British Columbia Climate Action Plan. Its mandate is to deliver quality B.C.-based greenhouse gas offsets to help clients meet their carbon reduction goals.

The Trust expects to secure up to one million tonnes of offsets annually in order to meet the province’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. For more information on the Trust visit www.pacificcarbontrust.ca