SOIL
CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
From
Consortium for Agricultural Soils
Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS)
http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu
Charles W. Rice, K-State Department of
Agronomy, National CASMGS Director
(785) 532-7217 cwrice@ksu.edu
Scott Staggenborg, K-State Department of
Agronomy (785) 532-7214 sstaggen@ksu.edu
Steve Watson, CASMGS Communications (785)
532-7105 swatson@ksu.edu
Oct. 9, 2008
No. 64
* Public
Invited to K-State to Hear Experts on Climate Change
National:
* Regional Cap-and-Trade Programs in the
* Soil Exhibit at the
Science:
* The Role of Natural Forests in Carbon
Storage
* Tillage and Residue Management Effects on Soil Carbon
and CO2 Emission in a Wheat-Corn Double-cropping System
**********
Public
Invited to K-State to Hear
Experts
on Climate Change
National authorities on global climate change will be at
Two of the presenters (Chuck Rice and Johannes Feddema) served on the UN
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They were among the world scientists
who helped author the UN’s IPCC report that shared the Nobel Peace Price last
year with former Vice President Al Gore.
The presenters and their topics include:
"Climate Change Impacts: Global, National, and Regional" -
Johannes Feddema, professor of geography at the
"Adaptation to Climate Change" - Jerry Hatfield, lead scientist
and director of the National Soil Tilth Lab, a division of USDA´s Agricultural
Research Service in
"Mitigation of Climate Change: Agricultural Sequestration" -
Chuck Rice, K-State professor of soil microbiology and specialist in carbon
sequestration.
"Climate Change Policy and Economics" - Susan Capalbo, head of
the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at
In a shorter segment, Steve Swaffer, director of natural resources for Kansas
Farm Bureau, will describe a program that allows farmers to get paid for soil
carbon credits.
Ray Hammarlund, director of the Kansas Corporation Commission’s Energy Programs
Division, will join the discussion in the session’s last segment, to cover
Kansas´ current climate policy.
More information about the half-day workshop is available by contacting Chuck
Rice at 785-532-7217 or cwrice@ksu.edu.
**********
Regional
Cap-and-Trade Programs
In
the
In the absence of
federal leadership in establishing mandatory greenhouse gas mitigation programs
in the U.S., three regional programs have developed – one in the Northeast, one
in the Midwest, and one in the West. These regional cap-and-trade programs are
all somewhat different.
Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic:
“Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative”
The Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a coalition of
RGGI is the first mandatory cap-and-trade program for
carbon dioxide (CO2) to be established on any level in the
To reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases, the RGGI cap-and-trade program:
* Requires electric power
generators to hold allowances covering their allowed emissions of CO2.
* Provides an emissions allowance
auction and trading system so that electric power generators and others can
buy, sell, and trade CO2 emissions allowances.
The auction for emissions
allowances will be bringing in a considerable amount of money. RGGI states will
use these funds for energy efficiency programs, to mitigate price impacts of
the program on consumers, to stimulate investment in the renewable energy
sector, and to cover the administrative costs of the program.
RGGI held its first auction
for CO2 emission allowances on Sept. 25, 2008. Six of the 10 states in RGGI
offered emissions allowances at this auction. This points out a unique aspect
of RGGI. Each state has its own individual trading program and set of state
regulations on that program, all based on a uniform RGGI Model Rule. The CO2
allowances issued to power plants within RGGI are reciprocal between states.
Taken together, the 10 individual state programs function as a single regional
compliance market for carbon emissions.
At the RGGI auction, all
12.6 million allowances were sold. Each allowance allows the emission of one
short ton of CO2 emissions. There were 59 bidders, including representatives from
the energy, financial,
and environmental sectors. The average price was $3.09
per ton of CO2. The next auction is
scheduled for Dec. 17, 2008. RGGI allowances are also currently being traded on
the Climate Climate Futures Exchange.
Offsets are an important aspect of the RGGI program.
Power plants are allowed to purchase offset allowances from approved projects
that will reduce or sequester emissions of greenhouse gases. These CO2 offset
allowances may be used to satisfy only a limited portion of a source’s
compliance obligation — initially a maximum of 3.3 percent of a power plant’s
total compliance obligation. This may be expanded to 5 percent and 10 percent later.
RGGI has set standards to
ensure that offsets are real, additional, verifiable, enforceable, and
permanent. At this time, five project categories for CO2 offset
allowances are eligible under the participating states’ regulations.
a. Landfill methane capture
and destruction
b. Reduction in emissions of
sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) in the electric power sector
c. Sequestration of carbon
through afforestation;
d. Reduction or avoidance of
CO2 emissions from natural gas, oil, or propane end-use combustion
due to end-use energy efficiency in the building sector
e. Avoided methane emissions
from agricultural manure management operations
RGGI also allows for
emissions credit retirements from a mandatory program outside the
For more information on
RGGI, see: www.rggi.org
Western and
Northern U.S. and
“Western Climate
Initiative”
The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) is a coalition
of seven
Like RGGI, the WCI is establishing a mandatory
cap-and-trade system, with limited offsets. The WCI is not as far along in its
development as RGGI, but it is more comprehensive in the number of sectors it
will include in its mandatory greenhouse gas emissions caps. Also, the WCI is
more comprehensive in the scope of greenhouse gases it includes. RGGI only caps
carbon dioxide; the WCI sets caps on carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
hydroflourocarbons, perflourocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
The WCI has a goal of
reducing GHG emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The WCI
cap-and-trade program will be implemented in two phases. Beginning January 1,
2012, emissions from electricity generation and large industrial and commercial
sources will be covered under the program. In the second phase, beginning
January 1, 2015, the program will expand to cover emissions from transportation
and residential, commercial, and industrial fuel use not otherwise covered.
On Sept. 23, 2008, the WCI
released its Design Recommendations. This is just one step in the process, and
much work remains to be done before final regulations are in place. The next
meeting of WCI partners to discuss its market design is scheduled for Oct.
21-22 in
Some aspects of WCI have
been established, however. A regional cap on greenhouse gas emissions will be
set, and emissions allowances (each allowance equals one metric ton of CO2
equivalent) will be issued to entities in the various sectors involved. Unlike
the RGGI system in which all allowances are sold to emitters through an
auction, the WCI current design recommendations state only that a minimum of 10
percent of the allowances be sold through auction, at least at first. The
remaining allowances can be issued at no cost.
Offsets are included in the
program, at this point. Emissions credits from GHG emissions offset projects
will be limited to 49% of the total emissions reductions from 2012 through
2020. Projects must be real, surplus/additional, verifiable, and permanent.
The WCI has identified three
project types for offset projects:
1. Agriculture (soil
sequestration and manure management);
2. Forestry activities
(afforestation/reforestation, forest management, forest preservation/conservation,
forest products); and
3. Waste management
(landfill gas and wastewater management).
The Design Recommendations
encourage offsets to come from WCI states, but does not require it. Further
changes to these recommendations are possible.
For more information on the WCI, see: http://www.westernclimateinitiative.org
Midwestern States:
“Midwestern
Regional GHG Reduction Accord”
This is the newest of the regional accords, and the one furthest
from implementation at this time. The Midwestern Regional GHG Reduction Accord,
established on Nov. 15, 2007, is a coalition of six states:
Under
the Accord, members agree to establish regional greenhouse gas reduction
targets, including a long-term target of 60 to 80 percent below current
emissions levels, and develop a multi-sector cap-and-trade system to help meet
the targets. Participants will also establish a greenhouse gas emissions
reductions tracking system and implement other policies, such as low-carbon
fuel standards, to aid in reducing emissions.
The
Accord is supposed to be fully implemented within 30 months.
For
more information, see: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=12497
Other State Actions
At least 36 states, including
-- Steve Watson, CASMGS Communications
**********
Soil Exhibit at the
of Natural History
The
“Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” exhibit opened in summer 2008 at The Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of Natural History on the Washington Mall.
Through objects, media, and hands-on interactives, visitors learn what soil is,
what soil means to their lives and cultures, and how soil links earth’s land,
air, and water. The exhibit occupies a 5,000-square-foot hall near the main
rotunda and will run for 18 months. During that time 10 million people are
expected to visit the museum. In 2010, the exhibit will begin a 4-6 year tour
of major museums in
Exhibit
Stops Include:
1.
The Skin of the Earth
What
on Earth are soils and why are they important to us? Find the answers to these
questions, and uncover the dynamic roles soils play in supporting life on
Earth. Look under the trunk of an oak tree at a cut-away mural and close-up
videos to see and hear what’s happening in soils.
2.
Sizing Up Soils
See
how a soil forms. Discover what various soils are made of and what gives them
their special characteristics.
* Color It Wet or Dry. Study soils like a scientist
by comparing six soil samples with Munsell color test cards.
* Where in the Soil World Are You? Follow the clues
to figure out where three mystery soils come from.
* Hidden Horizons. Touch the layers in a column of
soil, and put together puzzle blocks to see how soils stack up.
* Texture Matters. Flip tumblers of “giant” soil
particles to see how water moves through sand, silt or clay.
*
Find Your Home Earth. Do you know the name of your state soil? Check it
out in a gallery of 54 slices of real All-American soils. At the interactive
Home Earth kiosk, meet scientists who study soils from the
*
Chef’s Challenge. Watch as two wacky soil chefs, armed with a pantry full of
environmental ingredients and 6,000 years, go head-to-head in a competition to
“cook” up a unique soil.
3.
Matters of Life and Death
Soils
are alive and teeming with millions of living things. Take a peek into the
life, death and decay beneath your feet.
*
Soil Emissions Inspection Station. Touch two modeled soils; then activate two
soil “breathalyzers,” and watch the simulation as they detect carbon dioxide
emissions from soil microbes.
*
Matters of Life and Death theater. Watch this edgy and gripping detective story
that takes you into the underworld of life, death and decay in the soil food
web.
4.
The Big Picture
What
do soils have to do with clean drinking water and climate change? Find out in
this section,
and
unearth the roles soils play in Earth’s processes. Visit our global map to see
the 12 basic types of soils found around the world. Then take our Big Picture
computer quiz to learn about global connections between soils and life on Earth.
5.
What’s Soil Got To Do With It?
How
do soils affect where you live, work and play? What’s your personal
relationship to soils? Explore the many ways we use and benefit from soils and
how we affect their health. Touch models of two very different
urban soils found in
6.
Our World, Our Soil
How
close are you to soils? In this section, take steps to uncover the many ways
soils touch your life every day. Touch
a model of a dark earth Amazonian rainforest soil.
To
learn more about the exhibit or to find educational materials go to http://forces.si.edu/soils/.
--
Linda Madl, CASMGS Communications
**********
THE
ROLE OF NATURAL FORESTS
IN
CARBON STORAGE
How much carbon can natural
forests store when undisturbed by intensive human land-use activity? That is
the question answered in a recent report from the
Among the observations and
conclusions in the report:
* The “green” carbon in
natural forests is stored in a more reliable stock than the “brown” carbon in
industrialized forests, especially over ecological time scales.
* Carbon stored in
industrialized forests has a greater susceptibility to loss than that stored in
natural forests.
* The carbon stock of
forests subject to commercial logging, and of monoculture plantations in
particular, will always be significantly less on average (~40 to 60 per cent
depending on the intensity of land use and forest type) than the carbon stock
of natural, undisturbed forests.
* The rate of carbon
fixation by young regenerating stands is high, but this does not compensate for
the smaller carbon pools in the younger-aged stands of industrialized forests
compared with those of natural forests.
* Carbon accounts for
industrialized forests must include the carbon emissions associated with land
use and associated management, transportation and processing activities.
* Australian natural forests
have far larger carbon stocks than is recognized.
* The remaining intact
natural forests constitute a significant standing stock of carbon that should be
protected from carbon emitting land-use activities.
* There is substantial
potential for carbon sequestration in forest areas that have been logged if
they are allowed to re-grow undisturbed by further intensive human land-use
activities.
For
details of the report, see:
http://epress.anu.edu.au/green_carbon/pdf/whole_book.pdf
-- Steve Watson, CASMGS
Communications
**********
Tillage and residue management effects on
soil carbon and CO2 emission in a wheat-corn
double-cropping system
Article
abstract: “The mitigation of CO2 emission into the atmosphere is important
and any information on how to implement adjustments to agricultural practices and
improve soil organic matter (SOM) stock would be helpful. [The authors] studied
the effect of tillage and residue management on soil carbon sequestration and CO2
emissions in loam soil cropped in a winter wheat-corn rotation in northern
Wenxu
Dong, Chunsheng Hu, Suying Chen, and Yuming Zhang, Nutrient Cycling in
Agroecosystems
http://www.springerlink.com/content/q37t8t37416423j4/?p=9a776e82ce334c30baa165f053c10d44&pi=0
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MEETINGS OF INTEREST
November 12-14, 2008
Carbon Market Insights
Americas 2008
Washington, D.C.
www.pointcarbon.com/events
November
16-20, 2008
International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies
http://mit.edu/ghgt9/index.html
**********
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