Information on developing soil carbon
trading markets
Introduction
Carbon may be one way to address concerns about climate change and environmental impacts. Regional, state, and national and eventually international initiatives will be needed to achieve the critical mass to arrest the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. With the introduction of greenhouse gas emissions trading, farmers will also have a new source of income. Carbon stored in soils reduces atmospheric levels of carbon, and the stored tons of carbon can be traded or sold as ‘carbon credits.’
Below are the functioning markets that I am aware of in the
This document is an effort to enhance global communication on a very important conservation concern. Please consider it as a "work in progress" in which you can participate and offer suggestions and comments. Thanks for your help.
Don Reicosky
A list of functioning
soil carbon markets and aggregators in the
The Chicago Climate Exchange has shown to be the most
reliable and influential carbon credits market that exists within the
Contact Information:
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/
info@chicagoclimateexchange.com
Phone:
+01 (312) 554-3350
Fax: +01 (312) 554-3373
The Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association is a grower-based organization committed to increasing
economical, direct seed farming systems in the
PNDSA is developing the protocol to
aggregate CO2 from agricultural soil and developing offset emissions
guidelines for growers and is taking a lead role to consolidate a position on
Carbon Trading with a broad range of agriculture commodity groups and conservation
farming organizations. PNDSA is working to develop a second generation
carbon sequestration contract to aggregate approximately 400,000 acres.
Contact
Information:
http://www.directseed.org/carbon_trading.htm
http://www.directseed.org/index.htm
http://www.entergy.com/news_room/newsrelease.aspx?NR_ID=308
2780
Phone: 208-883-3645
Fax: 208-882-6406
The
The Iowa Farm Bureau is working to
aggregate carbon credits from
Contact Information:
Carbon Credit Aggregation Program
Phone: 515-225-5431
National Farmers
The National Farmers Union is
working to aggregate carbon credits for farmers from fourteen
Contact
Information:
http://www.nfu.org/issues/environment/carbon-credits/
For More Information:
carboncredit@ndfu.org
Dale Enerson - 800-366-8331 ext.116
The Delta Institute:
-
As part of the Illinois Conservation and Climate Initiative, the Delta Institute is a certified aggregator for the CCX that allows farmers and landowners to earn greenhouse gas emission credits when they implement conservation tillage, methane capture or grass or tree plantings.
Contact Information:
http://www.illinoisclimate.org/trading.php
The Delta Institute
Phone: 312-554-1909
For More Information:
William Schleizer
Delta Institute
Phone: (312) 554-0900 x 24
wschleizer@delta-institute.org
C-Green Aggregators Ltd
-
C-Green Aggregators Ltd is now
accepting applications for carbon credit contracts from minimum or no-till
farmers for agricultural land in
Contact Information:
C-Green Aggregators Ltd
1560-2002
Victoria Avenue
Regina,
Saskatchewan
S4P 0R7
Phone:
Fax: 306-585-6660
other accredited offices:
Participating credit unions
CGF brokerage 1-800-667-6378
Canadian Association of farm
advisors (Dave Anderson P.AG.) 306-221-2204
Agriculture Development Corp.
(Brad Farquhar) 306-347-3015
Precision Ag Services
306-457-2220
C-Lock
Scientists at the South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology are leading an effort to create a carbon sequestration program in
Contact Information:
http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/sdsmt/SiteID=399808
South Dakota
School of Mines & Technology
Phone: 605-394-2511 or 800-544-8162
Forecon Inc. (Forecon):
Forecon is a
multi-disciplinary forestry and natural resources company started in
Contact Information
http://www.foreconinc.com/services/CarbonSequestration.asp
Steve Ruddell
Phone: 616-874-9934
National Carbon Offset Coalition, Inc.
(NCOC)
The
National Carbon Offset Coalition, Inc. is comprised of seven
Contact Information
National Carbon Offset Coalition
305 W. Mercury, Room 408,
Phone: 406-723-6262 or 406-491-4471 or
406-491-4472
AgCert
AgCert ™ International plc was founded in 2002 to produce and sell reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (referred to as "offsets") from agricultural sources on an industrial scale. These offsets are intended to satisfy the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol and be capable of being traded on the European cap and trade system, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme ("EU-ETS").
Contact
Information:
Toenges, Duane A.
AgCert USA
Services
Office Phone:
319-373-5342
Cell Phone:
515-341-2774
E-mail: dtoenges@agcert.com
www.agcert.com
AgCert Services
(USA) Inc.
1901 South Harbor City Blvd, Suite 400
Melbourne, Florida 32901 USA
Tel: +1-321-409-7800
The list of
additional web sites for information on carbon sequestration.
CarboEurope
Cluster - working to advance the understanding of carbon fixation
mechanisms and to quantify the magnitude of the carbon sources/sinks for a
range of European terrestrial ecosystems.
Carbon
Dioxide Sequestration in Geologic Media - investigations at the Bureau of
Economic Geology,
Carbon
Seqestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems (CSiTE) - established by the U.S.
Department of Energy to perform fundamental research that will lead to
acceptable methods to enhance carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.
Carbon
Sequestration and Trading Implications for Canadian Agriculture -
discussion paper coordinated by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada.
Carbon
Sequestration in Agriculture: Value and Implementation - working paper
accessing the value of carbon sequestration and carbon permit trading market.
Carbon
Sequestration in Soils and Carbon Credits: Review and Development of Options
for Semi-Arid and Sub-Humid Africa - USGS workshop proceedings.
CASFOR
- European Forest Institute - project exploring carbon sequestration in
afforestation and sustainable forest management.
Centre
for CO2 Technology - University College London (United Kingdom) -
established in response to the Kyoto Protocol and the recognition that existing
technologies will not be able to meet the emission targets agreed upon for
carbon dioxide.
CO2
Capture Project - aims to reduce the cost of CO2 capture from combustion
sources and develop methods for safely storing CO2 underground.
Coal-Seq.com
- ongoing project investigating the feasibility of CO2 sequestration in deep,
unmineable coals. Field demonstrations are being performed in the
Earthbeat:
Carbon Sequestration - transcript from
Fuels
Decarbonization and Carbon Sequestration Workshop - report exploring the
management of carbon on a global scale.
Greenfleet
- specializes in reducing the environmental impacts of transportation by
planting native trees to offset current CO2 emissions.
Greenhouse
Solutions and Carbon Sequestration - feature produced by
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) - Laboratory for Energy and the Environment -
Carbon Sequestration Initiative (CSI) - industrial consortium that will
support research on carbon sequestration.
Anthropogenic
CO: The Natural Carbon Cycle Reclaims Center Stage - part of the U.S.
National Report to International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics 1991-1994.
Carbon
Cycle - traces the movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the
biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere.
Carbon
Cycle, Climate, and the Long-Term Effects of Fossil Fuel Burning -
Consequences article.
Carbon
Cycle, The - from the online text Fundamentals of Physical Geography.
Hiilen
Kierto - The Carbon Cycle - Kolets Kretslopp - Der Kreislauf des Kohlenstoffs
- illustrates the occurrence of carbon in the natural world and the human
impact on the carbon cycle.
NOAA
Office of Global Programs - Global Carbon Cycle - program seeking to
improve our ability to predict the fate of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2)
and future atmospheric CO2 concentrations using a combination of atmospheric
and oceanic global observations, process-oriented field studies, and modeling.
Ocean
Carbon-Cycle Model Intercomparison Project (OCMIP) - working to identify
and understand differences between existing 3D global ocean carbon-cycle models
and speed their development.
U.S.
Carbon Cycle Science Program (CCSP) - investigates the rising atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentration and its potential impact on future climate.
Understanding
the Global Carbon Cycle - article from The Woods Hole Research Center.
USGS
Global Change Research Program - Carbon Cycle Research - provides project
summaries and reports.
What
is the Carbon Cycle? - describes the pathway that carbon takes as it is
transferred from plant to animal to atmosphere to ocean and so on.
List of publications
related to water and carbon trading programs.
Getting Paid for Stewardship: An Agricultural Community Water Quality
Trading Guide
Many agricultural producers already
know the benefits of implementing conservation practices in their operations.
Better soil, cleaner water and greater profits are just some of the advantages.
What if producers could earn even more for those same conservation practices?
It’s possible with water quality trading. This guide introduces the elements
that are keys to the trading process, noting critical questions to keep in mind
as you go.
http://www.conservationinformation.org/?action=learningcenter_publications_waterqualitytrading
Jackson, RB, EG Jobbágy, R Avissar, SB Roy, DJ Barrett, CW
Cook, KA Farley, DC le Maitre, BA McCarl, and B C Murray. 2005. Trading Water
for Carbon with Biological Carbon Sequestration. Science 310: 1944-1947.
C-Lock
(Patent Pending): a System for Estimating and Certifying Carbon Emission
Reduction Credits for the Sequestration of Soil Carbon on Agricultural Land
. 2005. Technical paper for Mitigation
and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer Science and Business
Media B.V., Volume 10, Number 2, p. 307-331.
Manley, J., Van Kooten, G.C., Moeltner, K., and Johnson, D.W. 2005. Creating carbon offsets in agriculture through no-till cultivation: a meta-analysis of costs and carbon benefits. Climate Change 68:41-65.
The following book has a section that explores the potential for agricultural soils to generate soil carbon credits that could be traded in the broader greenhouse gas credit market.
Kimball, J. M., Rice, C. W., Reed, D., Mooney, S., Follett,
R.F., and Lal, R. 2007. Soil Carbon Management: Economic, Environmental and Societal
Benefits. CRC press,