20130207 forest carbon obstacles and possible solutions andrew steel
TRANSCRIPT
Symposium II: Environment & Carbon Trade
Forest carbon trading: Obstacles and possible solutions
ANDREW G . STEELChief Executive Officer
The TREEDOM Group
2
Investment Advisor to the Asia Renewable Resources Fund
Forestry Consultancy & Project Management
Plantation Management & Luxury Aromatic Oil Producer
Charitable Objectives; Reforestation & Environmental Education
The Treedom Group
Introduction
• Forest Carbon: Milestones• Project Experience• Survey Results• Where are we now?• The way forward? – Into discussions
– Obstacles– Measurement/Reporting/Verification (MRV)– Market – Solutions
Forest Carbon: Milestones
2003 – 2010 CCX Operational 2007 – The Bali Road Map (REDD+) 2008 – Carbon Fix launched 2010 – First Forestry VCS Credits issued 2012 – The Gold Standard acquires The Carbon Fix Standard & ‘MOU’ with FSC
*Forest Carbon: Top Ten - 2010 Milestones
i. The US Cap-and-Trade Meltdown
ii. REDD+'s Time to Shine at the UN
iii. California Stays in Front of the Pack
iv. Standards Set the Mark
v. An Explosion in Project Development
vi. Emerging National Conservation Strategies
vii. Public Pledges Outpace Private Purse for REDD+
viii. Beyond Project Scale Intervention
ix. Growing Pains for the REDD+ Partnership
x. Growing the Money for US Forest Conservation
*Ecosystem Marketplace Forest Carbon Portal
Project Experience 2009-12: Soneva/PATT Reforestation Project
Carbon Offset Project – create VER’s to fund additional projects
300,000 Seedlings per year Community Nurseries 3 Hill tribe groups 10 year project Framework species restoration
Project Partners:
Donor: Soneva Resorts & SpaProject Developer: PATT FoundationGovernment Agency: DNP Technical Support: FORRU
PROBLEMATIC ……
Educating the client Long lead time Educating Govt departments on
carbon offsetting Pioneering - No Govt policy Speaking Swahili
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION Translation (500 pages) Removal of key sentences from
our documentation Procedures
Story changing
LOGISTICS Equipment Storage
Seedlings 10,000 a day from nursery
Villagers Door to Door service! Walk 700m up the hill…….. No Bathrooms
WEATHER …. FLOODING
21st Sept 2011
28th Sept 2011 - Only 7 Days later
Water level started to rise …………….
Adverse climate conditions (persistent rainfall) Access to Areas
Flooding of roads restricted area access (Mae Wa)
Bridge taken out (Doi Pa Ma)
VILLAGERS…. ISSUES &CONFLICTS Payments
No ATM – Cash! Working with hill tribe
groups Lack of lead time to
conduct Participatory Resource Assessments (PRA)
Knife threats Threats to take out the
bridge Threats to burn down the
site
COMMUNITY…. positives
SupportiveEmployment Opportunity EducationalHelping the Environment Harmony
CONCLUSION
Not for the faint hearted or people with high blood pressure!
Survey & Results
1. What is your industry profession?2. Did you attempt to create an afforestation/reforestation project with the sole aim of
trading carbon? If not, what was the project scope?3. Was the price of carbon a major decision in putting the project together? 4. Was the project put together under a voluntary market system or UNFCCC CDM A/R?5. If the project was aimed at the Voluntary Market – which standard did you follow? 6. What were the major obstacles that you faced?7. What improvements would you like to see?8. Have you sold or are you still attempting to sell carbon from your project?9. How do you see the future market for forestry with regards to the sale of carbon
credits?
Where are we now?
• In 2011, forest carbon project developers reported the highest overall value ever attributed to the global marketplace for forestry off sets – totaling $237 million.
Put it into context: 237/215 projects surveyed = $1.1M per project
• In 2011, projects managed to obtain prices that were double the 2010 average, seeing a market-wide average price of $9.2/tCO2e.
Overall, this price is the aggregation of hundreds of diverse prices that vary greatly by project standard, location and other environmental and social co-benefits
– ranging from less than $1/tCO2e to over $100/tCO2e in 2011
*State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2012
The way forward?
– Obstacles– Monitoring/Reporting/Verification (MRV)– Market – Solutions
OBSTACLES
EDUCATION
TRANSPARENCY
BUREAUCRACY
FINANCE
OVERALL COSTS
EXPERIENCE
CORRUPTION
LACK OF EXPERTS
M - measurement R - reporting V - verification
EDUCATION
TRANSPARENCY
BUREAUCRACY
OVERALL COSTS
EXPERIENCE
CORRUPTION
LACK OF EXPERTS
• NEED TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY AND ENSURE THAT OFFSET IS ACTUALLY DELIVERED
• TRANSPARENCY• COSTS ……………MONOPOLY • REMOTE SENSING
Market Share - Motivation
Historical Transacted Volumes
Market Share (Price & Type)
Market Share for Standards
Project developer - Predications
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
EDUCATION
TRANSPARENCY
BUREAUCRACY
OVERALL COSTS
EXPERIENCE
CORRUPTION
LACK OF EXPERTS
http://www.conservationfinance.org/
• Support early stage project development
• Lower cost of accreditation & verification
• Education – increase market expertise
• Simpler system or simpler legislation
• Capacity building - PINS & PDD
