SOIL CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
From
Consortium for Agricultural
Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/ctec
Charles W. Rice, K-State Soil
Microbiology, National CASMGS Coordinator (785) 532-7217 cwrice@ksu.edu
Kent McMay, K-State Soil and
Water Conservation Specialist (785) 532-5776 kmcvay@ksu.edu
Steve L. Watson, CASMGS
Communications (785) 532-7105 swatson@oznet.ksu.edu
No. 25
This week's issue:
* CASMGS Carbon Measurement and Monitoring Forum At K-State
National:
*
International:
* The Challenge Of
Carbon Trading: Six Years Of A Carbon Project In
**********
CASMGS CARBON
MEASUREMENT AND MONITORING
FORUM AT K-STATE
The CASMGS Carbon Measurement and Monitoring Forum is being
held this week in
The Wednesday afternoon session is free and open to the public. It will be held at Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union. The schedule for this session is:
2:
The remainder of the Forum (Wednesday evening through Friday
afternoon) features scientific presentations, field trips, a talk by Jim
Moseley, USDA Deputy Secretary, and a luncheon talk by Sen. Pat Roberts
(R-Kan.). Most of the conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in
I’ll have reports in upcoming issues of this newsletter on several of the presentations made at this Forum.
-- Steve Watson <swatson@oznet.ksu.edu>
**********
INITIAL CARBON PRICE
DISCOVERY
In its first-ever auction, the Chicago Climate Exchange
(CCX) sold 100,000 Vintage 2003 carbon dioxide (CO2) emission allowances at an average
price of $0.98 per metric ton and 25,000 Vintage 2005 allowances at an average
price of $0.84 per metric ton. "This is a landmark moment for market-based
solutions to environmental concerns," said CCX Chairman and CEO Richard
Sandor. "By establishing a mechanism for achieving price discovery and
disseminating market information, CCX has achieved one of its central
goals." The auction was a sealed-bid sale of CO2 emission allowances by
CCX members, which includes Ford Motor Co., DuPont, the City of
To convert this, 1
MT CO2 is .27 MT of C, according to Chuck Rice, K-State professor of Agronomy.
As a result, $0.98 per metric ton CO2 equals $3.63 per MT of C. Kansas results
show a C sequestration rate of 0.25 to 1 MT C per hectare per year. At $3.60
per MT C per hectare, that would equate to about $0.90 to $3.60 per hectare per
year.
Finally, converting
that to
-- Steve Watson <swatson@oznet.ksu.edu>
**********
THE CHALLENGE OF
CARBON TRADING:
SIX YEARS OF A
CARBON PROJECT IN
Scientific work has
confirmed that a marginal, but potentially significant reduction in atmospheric
carbon dioxide can be achieved by sequestering it in trees, especially new
trees, and the soil beneath them. A recent Royal Society book, Capturing Carbon
and Conserving Biodiversity: the Market Approach, edited by I.R. Swingland
(London, Earthscan 2003) sets out the progress and reviews all the problems
that continue to surround the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and its “flexibility
mechanisms” that include carbon trading. The book makes clear that notwithstanding
all the political posturing, an infant market in carbon offsets has been
emerging for some years.
One important
question is how the benefits can be made available to the small farmers who
actually sequester the carbon under the “clean development mechanism” proposed
in
The project began in
1995 with 43 farmers from eight communities and 4 scientists from a federal
research institution. The farmers rely on growing corn and beans, coffee and
some cattle. Using participatory methods, the project evaluated the carbon
sequestration potential of the agroforestry and forestry systems in the region.
Several potential systems were considered technically, socially and
economically viable: living fences, shaded coffee, taungya system, enriched
fallow, Mucuna green manure, reforestation, and forest regeneration and conservation.
An institution was created within a coffee cooperative, advised by scientists
and a forest economist who raised funds and became a promoter at the international
level.
The project has
grown dramatically. By 2001 there were contracts with 450 individual farmers
from 25 communities, and 4 communal landholdings. The number of hectares under
contract increased 7 fold and the total carbon contracted over the 5-yr period
to 2001 was over 30,500 tonnes. From the original range of systems, farmers
chose taungya and enriched fallow that provided higher payments. This could
potentially reduce biodiversity enhancement and raises the issue of the
influence and possible distortion of other land-use benefits by carbon markets.
In the pilot phase
decision-making and management were shared between farmers, the academic advisers
and the carbon promoter. Over time, farmer representatives became more powerful,
and pressured the project to pay out the contracts early rather than over the
planned 10 years. To avoid such farmer domination and to expand the project,
the carbon promoter re-organized it under a new umbrella programme called Fondo
Bioclimatico. The Fondo now supports five farmer organizations, and a NGO was
formed to provide technical assistance. The Fondo is seen to act as a bank,
where farmers contract to deposit carbon and withdraw payments. Although the
goals of social and community benefits are still used to sell the programme,
these are indirect benefits from the primary goal to market carbon. Transparent
administration and systems for monitoring the contracts have had to be
developed.
Farmers
understandably are very interested in being involved in this new market. This
project has shown how smallholder farmers can participate in the global carbon
market designing carbon mitigation systems that fit their resources and other
agricultural needs. Scientists point out that the main value of carbon sequestration
belongs in the first decades of the new century, while cleaner emission
technologies are still being developed and adopted, so the
To correspond with
the author or obtain a free electronic copy of this paper, write to kcn@umn.edu
-- K.C. Nelson and
B.H.J. de Jong. 2003. Making global initiatives local
realities: carbon
mitigation projects in
**********
MEETINGS OF INTEREST
Note: All dates are 2003 unless
otherwise noted.
October 15-17
CASMGS Carbon
Measuring and Management Forum
For more
information, contact Scott Staggenborg at (785) 532-5833
CASMGS Forum: Can
Agriculture and Energy Partner Using Soil Carbon Sequestration to Offset
Greenhouse Gases?
For more information,
contact: tanveer@tamu.edu (979-845-3153) or see:
http://agecon.tamu.edu/faculty/mccarl/acs/casmgs_conf_send.htm
Send comments or items for the
newsletter to Steve Watson at:
<swatson@oznet.ksu.edu>
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