California carbon credit projects listed
Eleven new California carbon credit projects were listed on the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) website this past Wednesday.
The projects listed with the ARB include seven Livestock Methane Capture projects, three ozone depleting substance (ODS) projects, and one Forestry Project that are all seeking to provide California carbon credits.
A total of 41 projects have listed with the ARB since they began the process of transferring voluntary carbon projects over to the compliance market where businesses can purchase California carbon credits to help meet their new emission reduction targets.
Only four project types have been approved by the ARB to provide California carbon credits, leading market analysts to predict a significant lack of supply.
A study conducted by the American Carbon Registry (ACR), one of California’s approved Offset Project Registries, forecasts that regulated businesses could demand over 20 million California carbon credits during the market’s first compliance period which runs through 2014, however the same study predicts a 29% shortfall in the supply of California carbon credits.
Unless additional project protocols are approved by the ARB, the ACR report shows a shortfall of up to 67% in the market’s third compliance period from 2018-2020.
With the recent announcement that Quebec will be linking with the California market, the demand on California carbon credits will only increase.
The Quebec Ministry of the Environment has only approved three carbon offset project types, and market participants expect the Canadian province to be a net purchasers of California carbon credits.
(5/2/13)