Existing forests yield new carbon credits

Sarah Spaeth

In the Northwest, owners of Forest Stewardship Council-certified private forests now have financial incentive not to develop or harvest their land. For many, the program developed by Port Townsend-based nonprofit Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG) called Northwest Neutral will be their first return on investment.

The program establishes value for private forest owners to maintain healthy forests by creating a market for carbon credits associated with their existing forests. Seattle-based Ecohaus—a green building products retailer—purchased the program’s first credits in March.

Existing forests are the most valuable type of carbon sequestration, according to Ian Hanna, director of NNRG’s Northwest Certified Forestry Program. About two-thirds of the sequestered carbon is emitted when a forest is harvested and in the use of short-term wood products such as paper, he says. Selling credits for this sequestered carbon makes the forest into a liquid asset for its owner without it being harvested or developed.

“It takes the risk of existing pools [of carbon dioxide] into account and rewards landowners that have gone to the trouble of maintaining those forests,” says Hanna.

NNRG says the market for these credits will be worth about $5 million over the next three years. Both 100-year and permanent contracts for between $2,000 and $6,000 per acre will be available to the green building and public sectors. NNRG plans to certify the credits to the Voluntary Carbon Standard by the end of the year.