The New Standard
We must develop credible market mechanisms to spark financial investment in conserving and restoring forest carbon sinks while we simultaneously work to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. The Carbon Canopy joins together, under a single common umbrella, a diverse collection of stakeholders ranging from private landowners and environmental groups to multi-national corporations to raise the standards, effectiveness, legitimacy and value of forest conservation and restoration initiatives. Carbon Canopy’s first project is focused on building a credible carbon market model for private landowners in the Southern US – the largest wood and paper producing region of the world.
We believe credibility within the carbon market hinges upon the following three criteria:
1. Positive on the ground impacts -- forest management must yield positive ecological results that include real, permanent, verifiable and additional carbon sequestration while also protecting biodiversity and watersheds. Our initial pilot project will be focused on shifting management practices from high grading, clearcutting and the conversion of natural forests to plantations to selective logging and thinnings aimed at restoring, conserving and increasing the abundance of older, natural forests.
2. Successful validation and verification to leading third-party standards consistent with #1 above - The initial project will be designed to meet the rigorous carbon accounting standards of the Voluntary Carbon Standard and the Climate Action Reserve forestry protocol. Forest management practices will meet Forest Stewardship Council certification standards.
3. Finally, to be credible, the forest carbon market must not be designed to be used in lieu of strategies to achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions from fossil fuel use. In order to achieve the reduction in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses necessary to mitigate catastrophic climate change, we must pursue mitigation opportunities and emissions reductions. Credits from forest carbon projects such as the Carbon Canopy pilot should be used to offset emissions only when the offsetter has made an effort to reduce their emissions as much as possible prior to purchasing and retiring carbon credits. The Carbon Canopy seeks to work with corporations committed to transparency in reporting and who demonstrate leadership in developing sustainable conservation models by first reducing their operational and supply chain environmental impacts.
A market for forest carbon will be stronger if buyers trust they are buying a high quality product that will deliver on the climate benefits it promises over the long term.