HomeCarbon CreditsWashington's Dept of Natural Resources Urges Carbon Credit Generation from Forestland

Washington’s Dept of Natural Resources Urges Carbon Credit Generation from Forestland

Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources has proposed using carbon credits to support local projects with the HB 1789 (Carbon Bill). This will allow the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to generate and sell carbon credits from forest land in Washington. 

Main Objectives of the Bill

The main objective is for Washington state to attain the same benefits from the carbon credit market as private businesses. The DNR could use various ecosystem services to produce carbon credits. The contract terms could cover a period of 125 years for these projects. 

The carbon credits generated in Washington could be used for Washington’s cap-and-invest program. The cap-and-invest program is part of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). 

The CCA will use the program to target the state’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses (GHGs). The goal is for Washington to reduce GHGs by 95% by 2050

It sets an emissions cap, which is then continuously reduced with time. A similar market-based program exists in California.

The sale of these carbon credits would allow the state to support trust beneficiaries such as public schools and counties. They could also fund projects like restoring damaged forests and protecting salmon habitats. These activities would boost the local economy and protect the environment.

How Washington’s Carbon Bill Would Work

carbon credit benefits from Washington land

The DNR will restore land that has been damaged by wildfires by replanting trees. These areas will generate carbon credits as the trees grow and sequester carbon. Some of the trees will be used for timber, serving the local wood products industry. 

Washington state will receive revenue for both the carbon credits and the sale of timber. However, the DNR will replant the trees that were harvested for timber. On average, they will plant three seedlings for every tree that is felled. 

The ultimate objective is to increase working forestland in Washington. The sale of the carbon credits would provide extra funding to restore damaged forests that would otherwise not be restored. It would also support the local timber industry since the amount of working forestland would expand due to forest restoration. 

Washington state has already seen a loss of 400,000 acres of working forestland in recent decades. In the next 20 years, it is expected to see another loss of 600,000 acres of forestland. Currently, the DNR has to apply for grants and limited external funding to support these restoration projects. 

The bill also highlights that the projects would have 125-year contract durations. This is to adhere to the compliance requirements in the Washington carbon market. It states that projects monitor, report, and verify carbon stocks for at least 100 years following the last credit issuance.

This means that the DNR can maintain the forests and carry out harvesting and replanting for 100 years. However, the carbon storage in that time period should exceed the level it would have been without the project. 

  • The bill also allows the DNR to use the sale of carbon credits to fund non-forestry related projects.

Some proposals include restoring eelgrass meadows, kelp forests, and investing in biochar

Similar projects have already been carried out by the DNR in other states. For example, in Michigan, The Big Wild Forest Carbon Project started in 2020 and was completed in 2022. It covers over 100,000 acres of the Pigeon River Country State Forest known as “The Big Wild.” 

The project creates a variety of revenue streams through carbon credits from its forest management activities. With a total project term of 40 years, energy company DTE Energy purchased the first decade of carbon credits. 

Although carbon projects can provide extra income for states to fund social and environmental welfare projects, there are some risks involved.

For example, the projects would need to account for sudden events such as wildfires, droughts, and diseases that can damage trees. 

These things will reduce carbon sequestration, and hence generate fewer carbon credits.

California, for example, has set up a carbon buffer pool to deal with these risks. These are a pool of carbon credits that cannot be sold or traded and set aside for sudden events.

Revisions to the Carbon Bill

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee endorsed the idea of the DNR selling carbon offsets in a bipartisan 7-4 vote. This means the DNR could contract ecosystem services for a duration of 125 years. 

However, there were some objections by the wood products industry to parts of the bill. Hence, the committee had to make some revisions.

  • The changes would prevent the DNR from reducing planned timber harvests. It also cannot lease less land for agriculture. 

According to its president, The American Forest Resource Council still does not support the bill. Wood industry representatives also find the bill’s language too broad. They want to be more specific about which activities will fall under ‘ecosystem services’.

The opposition from the timber industry could stem from developments from last year. The DNR revealed plans to reduce logging activities and generate carbon offsets. The plans were to lease 10,000 acres of timberland in Western Washington to a private business.

Most Popular
LATEST CARBON NEWS

Zimbabwe Allows Developers to Keep More Profits from Carbon Credits

Zimbabwe has amended its new carbon law governing carbon credit projects, dropping the initial plan to give 25% of the revenue to local communities...

Suriname Takes the Lead in Selling Carbon Credits Under Paris Agreement

One of the few carbon-negative countries, Suriname, aims to be the first nation to sell carbon credits created by the Paris Agreement also known...

Battery Startups Attract Mega-Investments and American Lithium’s Discovery

Here’s a Key Summary: Battery Boom: Discover how battery startups are securing record-breaking investments, reflecting the burgeoning potential of the sector. A Lithium Gamechanger:...

IEA’s 2023 Net Zero Roadmap: Tripling Renewables and Electrifying the Energy Transition

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest Net Zero Roadmap suggests that tripling renewables capacity to 11,000 GW by 2030 is one way to reach...
CARBON INVESTOR EDUCATION

Climate Disclosure: New Corporate Standards for a Net Zero World

As part of the world’s continued efforts to combat climate change and transition towards net zero, one important piece of the puzzle is new...

Carbon Pricing: Understanding The Economics and Trends of Fighting Climate Change

As global temperatures continue to rise, the urgency surrounding climate policies has intensified, thrusting carbon pricing into the limelight of climate discussions. The race to...

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Key Things to Know

Companies operating in the European Union will have to deal with new non-financial and sustainability reporting requirements starting January 2024 with the EU's Corporate...

Who Certifies Carbon Credits?

Anybody can say that they’re offsetting their carbon footprint and get financial support for it, which is good. But here’s another version of the...