California carbon offset projects listed
Today the first round of California carbon offset projects applying for use in the state’s compliance market were announced on the California Air Resources Board’s website.
A total of 25 California carbon offset projects have submitted applications to transfer from the voluntary Climate Action Reserve registry to the ARB system.
The carbon offset projects include Forestry, Livestock Methane Capture, and the Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substance projects from around the country.
Regulated businesses in the state, such as power plants and fuel refineries, must begin accounting for their annual emissions, and can purchase carbon offset credits to meet up to 8% of their compliance obligation, creating the potential demand for over 200 million California carbon offsets by 2020.
Forestry projects allow landowners to conserving their property in its natural forested state instead of heavily timbering the trees, or even converting the entire property to a commercial use, while still creating revenue to cover maintenance costs.
California carbon offsets are selling at a premium price compared to voluntary offsets, with one deal reported for 100,000 offsets trading for $10 last year.
In last month’s California carbon auction, allowances settled at $13.65, a very bullish sign for the world’s second largest carbon market.
(3/8/13)