CalChamber Emphasizes Need for Properly Designed Forestry Protocols
(September 12, 2007)
The California Chamber of Commerce supports the adoption of properly designed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions protocols for the forestry sector, which can serve as a valuable tool in California’s efforts to achieve GHG reductions in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
Forests and Climate Change
In September 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 32 (Núñez; D-Los Angeles), the California Global Warming Solutions Act, which included specific goals for reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
California’s vibrant, sustainable and well-managed working forests, owned by hundreds of individuals, families and companies, are perfectly suited to play an important role in helping the state achieve the Governor’s ambitious goals.
Responsibly managed forestlands offer great potential to significantly reduce GHG emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide, reducing wildfire risk and producing clean energy. The process of absorbing carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of tree growth, and wood products can continue to store that carbon for hundreds of years.
Concerns Over Protocols
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff held a public meeting on September 6 to discuss proposed forestry protocols and how they could be used to encourage voluntary greenhouse gas reductions.
The CalChamber has several concerns over the protocols being considered:
• Among other restrictions, the proposed protocols mandate permanent land-conservation easements on forestland owners who are willing to risk participation in a market-based carbon trading system that has yet to be defined.
• Limitations on forest improvement activities that qualify for trading as well as the complex and costly annual audit provisions, make the proposed protocols unlikely to attract participants.
• The unintended consequence of adopting these protocols could prevent the potential removal of 10 million tons of carbon dioxide per year from California’s air.
• The proposed protocols conflict with basic market-based carbon trading principles that call for the use of good data, innovation and a cost-effective framework, as well as mechanisms to ensure carbon emissions are not just transferred to other states or nations.
CalChamber Recommendation
The CalChamber recommends that the ARB work with California’s forestland owners to develop protocols that recognize these market principles and the value of responsibly managed forests, including the significant contribution they can make in achieving the state’s ambitious GHG reduction goals.
