A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Q: What is Carbon Sequestration? A: Capture and Storage of Carbon in Sinks Terrestrial (forest, agriculture) Ocean

Questions about carbon sequestration: Global Questions: How much can we do? How much will it cost? Implementation Questions: What policies can we use? How will the government monitor? What will be the cost of administering the program? Individual Project Questions: How much did our project sequester? How much will it cost? A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies

Issues in Modeling Sequestration Costs and Potential Quantities Types of Forest Practices Geographic Scope Data Requirements A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies

Forestry Practices to Increase Carbon Sequestration 1. Afforestation of agricultural land 2. Reforestation of harvested or burned timberland 3. Modification of forestry management practices to emphasize carbon storage 4. Adoption of low impact harvesting methods to decrease carbon release 5. Lengthening forest rotation cycles 6. Preservation of forestland from conversion 7. Adoption of agroforestry practices 8. Establishment of short-rotation woody biomass plantations 9. Urban forestry practices

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Geographic Scope of Study: Global Regional National Subnational

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Data Requirements Available land area for practice Treatment cost Land Cost Annual Carbon Yield

Tons captured per hectare per year Age of Plantation Rate of Carbon Capture as Function of Plantation Age

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Methods of Carbon Accounting: Flow Summation Average Storage Method Levelization/Discounting

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Methods for Valuing Land Resource: Bottom-up Engineering Studies – What has agricultural land sold for in past? Sectoral Optimization Studies – How much does public welfare decline when agricultural land is removed from production? Econometric Studies – How have landowners responded to past agriculture and forestry price signals?

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Other Cost Estimation Issues: Discount Rate Administration Costs Release of Carbon and the Role of Forestry Products Components of Forest Ecosystem Secondary Environmental Effects

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Implementation Issues: Provisions for Harvest Scope of Program and the Problem of Leakage Payment Patterns Trading Ratios (Source Control vs. Sequestration) Rate of Implementation

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Possible Rules about Harvest: Carbon Graveyard Harvesting Only after Several Decades Penalties for Harvesting

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Scope of Program and Problem of Leakage: Voluntary Participation => Problem of Leakage Mandatory Participation => Problem of Monitoring, Legal Constraints, Politics

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Payment Patterns: Pay for Planting Trees Pay for Carbon Capture Pay for Carbon Storage

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Trading Ratios (Source Control vs. Sequestration): Different Administration Costs Different Risks/Uncertainties Different Revenue-Raising Requirements

A Review of Forest Carbon Sequestration Cost Studies Conclusions: Need for Clear and Consistent Definition of “Dollars per Ton” Significant Opportunities for Large Quantities of Carbon Sequestration at Low Cost No Studies Effectively Address Implementation Costs