![]() “This opportunity for earning income from grassland carbon credits presents huge potential for changes in land use,” he says, “especially on marginal farmland where conventional cropping doesn’t pay or where sources of irrigation are drying up. He estimates the current value eventually paid to project developers for these credits to be at least $20 a ton, or per credit, an amount that could increase, he says, as the market for carbon credits continues to develop. However, the 10-year term of their agreement with BCarbon - independently or through Grassroots Carbon - may provide the time needed for the soil system to store the carbon.Īs of early March, BCarbon had applications for grassland carbon credits for some 400,000 metric tons of stored organic soil carbon, Blackburn says. If landowners were allocated more credits than their soil captured, they may be required to repay the funds they received for interim credits during the five-year period. At this point, landowners are issued more credits if soil tests show their practices generated more credits than modeling predicted. After testing establishes a baseline level of stored soil carbon, landowners or project developers may apply for interim credits to be issued through BCarbon based on expected increases in soil organic carbon occurring over the five-year period before the second soil testing occurs and in response to continuing or new regenerative grazing practices.Īfter the second testing for soil carbon in year five, a reconciliation occurs, Blackburn says. Payments by Grassroots Carbon will be made annually and currently are for the purchase of “interim credits” certified and issued by BCarbon. We expect we can bring value to many more landowners this year.” “These payments represent the first time that American ranchers were paid for delivered soil carbon credits. “In February this year, we released our first payments to ranchers, totaling more than $200,000 for soil carbon credits,” she says. Grassroots Carbon is supplying carbon credits to what Miller describes as “a growing number of credit buyers,” including Shopify and Marathon Oil. ![]() may have the potential to sequester more than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 per year, or 20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.” “Depending on the local climate and soil types,” she says, “soil carbon storage can range between 0.5 to more than 4 metric tons of CO2 per acre per year. ![]() READ MORE: Skepticism regarding carbon markets reigns among farmers.One of those is that the vegetation will capture more atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO2, which eventually ends up in the soil. Grazing lands managed in a regenerative way create thriving grassland ecology with many benefits. “If landowners can improve how these lands are managed for soil health and ecological health, the impact will be enormous. ![]() “About 40% of the surface area of the United States – more than 650 million acres – is used for grazing,” Miller says. Some of our clients had unfortunate experiences with forest credits and forest fires.”īuilding a corporate marketplace that incentivizes farmers’ and ranchers’ adoption of regenerative grazing practices could have far-reaching benefits by encouraging more wide-scale implementation of the practice. For example, they can withstand a grassland fire, without losing the carbon stock. They understand, too, that soil carbon credits from grasslands are pretty robust. “Companies realize the many advantages of nature-based solutions over technology-based solutions. “We are noticing a fast-growing interest in grasslands soil carbon credits,” says Lauren Miller, vice president of Carbon Footprint Solutions for Grassroots Carbon. Research has shown that managed grazing increases soil carbon above that of continuous grazing as well as above that of ungrazed grasslands. The process of carbon sequestration comprising each carbon credit is a process that is enhanced on regeneratively grazed grassland. “Each BCarbon credit represents 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and stored in soil,” Blackburn says. The measurements are then converted to the verified carbon credits that corporate buyers can ultimately purchase to offset emissions. These measured increases, recorded by BCarbon, are verified by an independent entity. Soil is tested again five years later to document actual increases in soil organic carbon. The documentation of carbon dioxide stored in soil begins when soil testing measures initial levels of soil organic carbon at the beginning of a crediting period. Markets Analysis Back to Markets Analysis.
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