Indoneisa will certified the forest by Lembaga Ekolebel Indonesia (LEI). Domestic companies have agreed to buy carbon

Introduction
The main cause of global warming (global warming) is the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere. There are 2 groups of greenhouse gases, namely:

• The impact of greenhouse gases directly: CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (Methane), N2O (nitrous oxide), PFCs (Perfluorocarbons) and HFCs (Hydrofluorocarbons);
• The greenhouse gas effect is not immediate: SO2, NOx, CO and NMVOC

Of all types of greenhouse gases, the CO2 gas ranks first cause of global warming. Based on the research of experts largest portion of the release of CO2 into the atmosphere is the industrial sector by 80%. The rest is agricultural, livestock, forestry and others.

To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially CO2, the countries of the world, including Indonesia, have agreed to conduct the emission reduction is incorporated in the international forum of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). All sectors of life are required to participate reducing the emission of CO2, including the industrial sector, trade and forestry. Indonesia as one of the timber exporting country, whether it is raw wood, processed wood or shaped items such as furniture production was required to have a commitment in the reduction of carbon emissions. Recognition among the international community about the commitment is there physical evidence in the form of ecolabel certification of forest products and plantations. At this time the American market, Europe and Japan have implemented ekolabeling requirements of export products entering their markets. Thus furniture products or semi-finished wood materials will be very difficult to penetrate their markets if we do not have an ecolabel certification of products that we export.

Certification Ekolabel from LEI

Ecolabel certification is a certification that is used to provide the value that a product is the result of forest management activities that observes the norms of environmental, economic norms and social norms, so that the sustainability of natural resources can be maintained. LEI certification is an ecolabel certification developed by LEI (Indonesia Ecolabeling Institute) which aims to encourage improvements to forest management in Indonesia through the implementation of management standards, hoping to restore the forest path and improve forest conditions for the better. Forest industry and forest product processing needs through the certification process if it wants to produce forest products are certified. Forest areas that had escaped the certification assessment marked by a certificate, while products that have passed the forest certification assessment marked by a certificate and labels. LEI's a label logo on wood products to guarantee that the entire production, from raw material sources, to the final processing to meet environmental values, social and economic.

The significance of ecolabel certification in Indonesia are as follows:

• As a means to achieve the complementary relationship between the interests of the environment, sustainability of forest resources with economic and trade interests.
• From the consumer side of the environment-loving consumers have a choice of products environmentally friendly and come from managed forests environmentally friendly.
• From the employer side of the businessmen had the tools to demonstrate ability to manage their business, their legality and demonstrate its moral responsibility towards the environment and society. Employers can ultimately enjoy increased access because it can penetrate the market ecosensitive.

Comparison of LEI with FSC certification
Ecolabel certification is generally a standard set of criteria and indicators for certification, which is used as a tool to assess and rank the good and bad performance management unit. Ecolabel certification underlying principles ecolabel certification ecolabel certification LEI and other countries are ecolabel certification FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). From the results of research during the year 1993 until the year 2003 through a joint program with the FSC certification LEI, and the results of research Dr. Alexander Heinrich and Agung Prasetyo using FCAG (Forest certification assessment guide) obtained the following system comparisons:

ASPECT	FSC	LEI
Government History Assessment Method Personnel for Assessment Decision-making process Involvement of stakeholders Accreditation Scope of operations and construction standards Agriculture Policy	Based constituencies, namely: social, ecological and economic. Founded by civil society organizations to provide independent assessment and verification of forest management. Performance based No clear requirements. Decisions made by adviser. Require public consultation, but did not specifically direct consultation, can be done through mailing lists or other media. Separate from the development standards, but still relatively the same. Operates globally, each country is allowed to develop their own initiatives based on the principles of the FSC. There was no difference by type of forest. With the cut-off in 1994	The constituent-based aspects of the group, businesses, communities and NGOs. Founded by independent groups and civil society organizations to provide independent assessment and verification of forest management in Indonesia. Performance-based. Clear requirements, and must be enrolled in an accredited LEI or Registration Agency Tiered analysis method, the layered process (assessment by the assessors and decision-making by the panel. Direct consultation is required. Inseparable. Operate nationally. Standards developed further specified. Criteria, indicators and verification of forest types are distinguished for: natural, plantations, public and CoC (Certificate timber tracking. Without the cut-off time, but based on the specific circumstances in assessing the risk of conversion to plantations and environmental threat to social change and settlemen

Inseparable.

Operate nationally. Standards developed further specified. Criteria, indicators and verification of forest types are distinguished for: natural, plantations, public and CoC (Certificate timber tracking.

Without the cut-off time, but based on the specific circumstances in assessing the risk of conversion to plantations and environmental threat to social change and settlemen


LEI Certification Stages

LEI certification process is divided into 5 phases with separate data acquisition process with the decision-making process. In each of these processes always involve stakeholders and this is one difference with FSC certification. Here are the stages LEI certification:


Phase 1 is to send the certification application to the certification body that is accredited by LEI

Stage 2 Pre-assessment of the field. This stage is the assessment of forest management document, the scope of the field and recommendations from the panel of experts to continue or stop the certification process. Recommendation to continue to be a recommendation to pursue the certification process gradual or directly to the field assessment stage.

Stage 3 of Field Assessment and Public Input. Certification Body will conduct field assessments and facilitate public input for consideration for the decision-making expert panel.

Stage 4 of Performance Evaluation and Certification Decision. Expert Panel to evaluate the performance of the forest management unit based on the collected documents, evaluation reports and field input from the public. Expert Panel to formulate recommendations on the performance evaluation of forest management unit.

Stage 5 of Certification Decision. Certification Bodies to establish certification decision was announced to the public, and also set the period of inspection, the forest management unit concerned. If no objection or claim for certification decisions, the objection may be submitted to the certification body.




LEI Certification Standards

Indonesia Ecolabeling Institute (LEI) has developed standards and certification systems for natural forests, planted forests, and community-based forest management (community based forest management). In general, in Indonesia there are 3 types of forest management and the management of natural forest types are managed by the owners of timber, type of management of forest plantations managed by HTI, and the type of community-based forest management that are managed as community forests (forests of) or indigenous forest .


Here are the types of certification standards of the LEI has been running, developed and applied in Indonesia:


Natural Forest Management Certification Sustainable Production (PHAPL),


Plant Certification Sustainable Forest Management (PHTL),


Certification-based Forest Management Sustainable Community (PHBML),


Track Custody Certification is designed for industrial timber forest product processing,




Gradual certification units designated for forest managers who are committed to improving forest management performance, but still has some problems or constraints to meet the existing standard.

Carbon Trade linkages with Ecolabeling Certification in Indonesia

Carbon Trade is a market mechanism intended to tackle global warming, which causes one of the largest element of global warming is the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the Kyoto Protocol, each country is required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions an average of 5.2% for the period 2008 until 2012.

Indonesia through the COP-13 UNFCCC held in Bali in 2007, has a carbon emission reduction scheme known as REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation). Scheme REDD carbon emission reduction is a national scheme which until now have not implemented because of which hit many of the problems is the regulation or regulations, the implementation of the REDD mechanism, guaranteeing intact forest conditions, the amount of carbon contained in the forests of Indonesia and the compensation fund for local communities. In connection with this, then the carbon trading on a national scale is still far more likely to be implemented. Although the United Nations target that REDD in the year 2013 was able to walk in Indonesia.

Outlines carbon trading (carbon trading) there are two types of global carbon trading and carbon trading project level (voluntary carbon trade). For carbon trading in Indonesia today are better prepared at the project level, although market mechanisms, legislation and related institutions has not been established. There are two main components namely trade sellers and buyers. In carbon trading into buyers is the industry groups of contributors to carbon emissions and the seller are groups who make an effort to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide gas.

Land management unit ecolabel certificate holder is one of the parties who are in positions of carbon offset sellers. So they can sell carbon offsets contained in the units of their land to the buyer. Buying and selling carbon offsets by the management unit of land can occur if the land unit managers have ecolabel certificate. The LEI ecolabel certificate holders are monitored and assessed their performance and commitment to sustainable forest management. Carbon offset market brokerage rates currently range between $ 4 - $ 10 per tonne of CO2 saved.

Indonesia has a lot of good forest and forest areas outside the forest areas such as forests are likely to get compensation in reducing the role of carbon dioxide gas emissions. To obtain such compensation, of course, these forests must first obtain certification ecolabel. Until now, still very few forests in Indonesia have received certification from the LEI.

Problems


The problems faced in the context of either carbon trade project level (voluntary carbon trade) and national level are as follows:


Lack of information about the ecolabel certification in Indonesia both in environmental governance, private sector and the general public


Lack of information about carbon trading that can be consumed by the public at large in Indonesia.


The government has not set up laws and regulations related to carbon trade and ecolabelling, and regulatory agencies related to these activities.


Not yet unprepared integrated forestry databases both at the central and regional levels, especially the integration of databases with other sectors such as plantations and trade sectors.


Lack of communication between relevant departments agencies, and between government, private and public.




Advice

To prepare the carbon trade is to scale both the national and project level (voluntary carbon trade) it is necessary to note the following things:


Need to immediately make the laws and regulations governing trade carbon issues that govern the individual components involved in carbon trade. In such legislation should include the rights and obligations of each (government, private sector, brokers, investors, NGOs, communities), as well as trade execution mechanism both stock levels and project level.


Need to set up regulatory agencies that oversee carbon trade carbon trading all activities in Indonesia, both for the international carbon market, national or project level. Like the stock exchange and commodities markets in Indonesia have called BAPPEBTI regulatory agencies and for the stock market Bappepam.


As one mandated by the UN on trade carbon, then the implementation of carbon trade in Indonesia had to give a big portion of income for local communities as an incentive to maintain forests, so might be an alternative community income.


The need for more intensive cooperation between the Government, private, LEI, NGOs and communities about the implementation of the ecolabel certification in Indonesia, so expect the data obtained are accurate regarding the location to be certified. The hope is to obtain a database of locations that will be certified based on the priority scale or the scale of readiness for the certification.


The need for socialization of ecolabel certification and carbon trading, whether it is level legislation institution, the departments, the private parties concerned, NGOs, traffickers associated with the forestry sector, communities around the region and the entire Indonesian society in general.


Need for institutional strengthening at the level of forest management management unit, so that they can implement and maintain standards of sustainable forest management according to standards recognized certification. For example: for indigenous forest certification, it is necessary institutional strengthening of indigenous peoples as indigenous forest managers themselves.



The need to strengthen the forestry database integrated from the central to local level and even level of the project area.





Read More..

Pemerintah Agar Siapkan Dana Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim

Antara - Kamis, Oktober 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Pemerintah Agar Siapkan Dana Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim] Pemerintah Agar Siapkan Dana Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Forum Masyarakat Sipil untuk Keadilan Iklim (CSF/Civil Society for Climate Justice) mendesak kepada pemerintah agar menyediakan dana adaptasi bagi kelompok masyarakat yang rentan terkena dampak perubahan iklim.

Manajer Kebijakan, Advokasi, dan Kampanye Oxfam GB Indonesia Raja Siregar mewakili CSF dalam konferensi pers di Jakarta, Rabu mengatakan adaptasi perubahan iklim bagi masyarakat memang berat dan perlu dibantu dibiayai oleh pemerintah.

Raja mengatakan kelompok rentan terkena dampak perubahan iklim misalnya petani dan nelayan yang hidupnya tergantung oleh kondisi alam secara langsung.

Banyak petani yang saat ini kesulitan dalam menentukan musim tanam karena kesulitan dalam memprediksi musim hujan. Akibat dari perubahan iklim, musim hujan menjadi singkat akan tetapi dengan intensitas curah hujan yang tinggi.

Kondisi tersebut, kata Raja, menjadikan petani sulit menentukan jenis bibit padi yang akan ditanam, masa mulai tanam dan meningkatnya resiko gagal panen.

Sementara bagi nelayan, perubahan iklim membuat iklim menjadi tidak menentu yang menyulitkan mengambil keputusan melaut.

Pemerintah sendiri, menurut Raja, telah mengalokasikan dana untuk perubahan iklim sebesar Rp500 miliar yang dialokasikan dalam APBN.

"Akan tetapi pemanfaatan dana itu belum jelas," katanya.

Meskipun begitu, Raja melihat sudah ada beberapa departemen yang memasukkan rencana adaptasi, seperti Departemen Pertanian yang telah selesai menyusun rencana adaptasinya pada akhir September.

Sedangkan Giorgio Budi dari ICEL mengatakan pemerintah seharusnya bisa memberikan bantuan dana bagi kelompok rentan meski tidak ada bantuan dari luar negeri terkait kompensasi kewajiban penurunan emisi karbon oleh negara Annex-1.

"Sebenarnya kita punya kemampuan untuk membiayai sendiri, misalnya dari peningkatan pajak," katanya.

Pada kesempatan tersebut CSF menyatakan akan menggelar Sarasehan Iklim bagi petani dan nelayan pada 2 dan 11 November mendatang di Jakarta.

Koordinator Nasional Jaringan Advokasi Tambang (JATAM), Siti Maemunah, sebagai anggota CSF mengatakan Sarasehan Iklim merupakan ajang dialog interaktif antara pengambil kebijakan dengan petani dan nelayan yang terkena dampak perubahan iklim.

Dalam sarasehan yang akan dihadiri pemangku kepentingan perubahan iklim di Indonesia itu, petani dan nelayan akan menyampaikan kesaksian tentang pengalaman kehidupan sehari-hari yang semakin sulit karena perubahan iklim.

Siti Maemunah yang lebih akrab dipanggil Mai mengatakan CSF akan menghadirkan sembilan perwakilan nelayan dan petani sebagai hasil studi kasus CSF dan Oxfam GB di beberapa tempat di Indonesia seperti Indramayu, Pati, NTT dan Lampung.

Sedangkan pemangku kepentingan yang direncanakan hadir yaitu dari DNPI (Dewan Nasional Perubahan Iklim), Departemen Pertanian, Departemen Kelautan dan Perikanan, Departemen Kesehatan, Bappenas sampai dengan Anggota DPR.

CSF berharap Sarasehan Iklim akan dapat menutup kesenjangan antara pengambil kebijakan dan permasalahan masyarakat yang terkena dampak perubahan iklim, sehingga pemerintah bisa merespons dengan tepat.

CSF merupakan forum dari 30 LSM antara lain Walhi, Jatam, ICEL, Huma, AMAN (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara) dan KPSHK (Kelompok Pengelola Sistem Hutan Kemasyarakatan).

Read More..

Govt to allow some export of protected forest wood

Benget Besalicto Tnb. , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/22/2009 1:18 PM Headlines
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The government is considering to allow the export of S4S (surface -machined to a smooth finish on all four sides) categories of wood and logs from natural forests, currently still banned, as a way of boosting the revenue of the forestry sector, an official says.

"We're currently in talks with all ministries concerned. Hopefully, we'll issue the regulation soon," the director general of forest product development at the Ministry of Forestry, Hadi Daryanto, said Friday.

Hadi argued that despite the global crisis, the S4S and log products are still lucrative in certain markets across the globe. "The demand is particularly strong from Middle East markets," he said.

The ministry had decided in 2005 to ban the export of the S4S products and logs from natural forests, in a bid, at that time, to help conserve natural forests, whilst still allowing some local value chain development for local wood products.

Hadi said that apparently other countries like Malaysia and China had benefited from this still growing global market, particularly after the Indonesian withdrawal from the S4S and log market in 2005.

"Malaysia, for example, has created a value chain system that has pushed the growth of its wood industries. Its logs from natural forests that are first grade are exported, while the second grade ones are used to feed its sawn timber industries, and the third grade ones are used as raw materials for plywood industries," he said

The Ministry of Forestry has awarded quotas allowing cutting of logs from natural forests of up to 9 million cubic meters per year. But production only officially reached around 3 million cubic meters per year, leaving it unclear whether the remaining six million cubic meters was illegally cut and exported.

Analysts have suspected that most of the illegal logs cut from the Indonesia's natural forests were exported to Malaysia and China with cheap prices and then the two countries re-exported them in the form of logs, S4S, plywood, furniture, or other woodworking products.

Diah Raharjo, the forestry program director of Kehati, an NGO involved in promoting forestry conservation, said the government should strengthen legal certainties in the forestry sector, improve transparency and establish a solid mechanism to maintain transparency, before executing the plan.

"If the government does not improve forestry governance then I'm afraid the plan of allowing the S4S exports will end up increasing illegal logging that will, of course, worsen the destruction of natural forests," she said.

The government has applied legal requirements requiring, for example, barcodes on all logs cut from natural forests, certification of production forests (HTI) and community forests (HTR), and certification of products of wood-based industries. "But still we see lack of transparency and independency on the part of people and institutions issuing the certificates," she said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/21/ri-paves-way-domestic-carbon-credit-market.html
Read More..

Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk

by Christopher Joyce
There is something new to feel guilty about: carbon.

This new form of remorse is found among people who think that their lifestyle — driving, plane trips or maybe just leaf-blowing — adds too much climate-warming carbon dioxide to the air.

The guilty can now buy something called a "carbon offset." Essentially, you pay someone else to reduce or "offset" carbon emissions equal to your own.


It's a booming new trade, but the federal government is worried that consumers are getting ripped off. The Federal Trade Commission has announced it will investigate the offset business.

For the consumer, buying an offset is pretty straightforward. You go to a broker and pay a few bucks for every ton of CO2 you want to offset. The average amount each American adds to the air is about 20 tons annually.

The broker promises that your money will pay for a project somewhere that will reduce carbon emissions, say, by growing trees that soak up that CO2 or building a solar energy plant.

Pankaj Bhatia of the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, says the business is hot. In fact, trade in this offset market is figured to be about $100 million a year and growing fast.

Bhatia's job is to assess carbon footprints — how much carbon you or your business emits. He says he's been very busy.

"Today, I got a phone call from a group that is managing concerts," he says, "and they wanted to know how they could quantify emissions from the transportation by helicopters of their equipment." The concert promoters wanted to buy offsets to neutralize the CO2 their concert produced.

How Much and For What?

But how do people know they are getting what they are paying for? After all, this is a market that trades in a gas, or more accurately, units of a gas that are not produced.

In the United States, the trading is voluntary and nobody is in charge. That worries people whose job it is to protect consumers.

"Our concern is that because these claims are very hard to substantiate and consumers can't easily tell they're getting what they pay for, there is the real possibility of fraud in this market," says Jim Kohm of the FTC's enforcement division.

Kohm says he does not know yet if there is much fraudulent carbon trading. But he is suspicious. "There's been an explosion in green marketing," he says. "There are claims that we didn't see in the market 10 years ago. Carbon offsets are one of those new claims."

There is a raft of new "carbon-neutral" products. For instance, there are potato chips and rock concerts that are advertised as "clean" because their makers or sponsors have bought offsets to counterbalance their emissions.

What the FTC Is Looking For

One of the things the FTC will investigate is "double selling," Kohm says. "So, for example, if I have solar panels on top of my store and then I sell somebody else the right to claim that carbon scrubbing, I can't then claim the carbon scrubbing for myself, as well."

"And if somebody were selling that two or three times, then that would be a deceptive practice that the FTC would need to take action on."

Another hangup is whether the carbon savings you are buying would have happened anyway. For example, what if a company cuts back on the electricity it uses simply to save money? Can that company then claim it has created an offset and then sell it? Climate experts say no. The offset market, they say, is meant to pay for carbon reductions that would not have happened otherwise.

Some environmental groups say that instead of buying carbon offsets, Americans should do the hard work themselves: use less electricity, switch from coal to wind power, drive less.

But Erik Carlson of Carbonfund, a company that trades in offsets, says it doesn't really matter who cuts carbon, who pays for those cuts, or who profits. "We need a 70 percent or so reduction in emissions," Carlson says. "And, in fact, that's all the planet actually cares about. It doesn't care about methane versus electricity versus this versus coal versus whatever."

But the FTC says it does care about consumers and whether they are getting what they pay for. The commission will hold its first public hearing on offset trading on Jan. 8 in Washington, D.C.
Read More..

CARBON OFFSET DEMYSTIFIED

A zero-emissions lifestyle is tough.
Carbon offsets can help you balance out.

Carbon Offsets A decade ago, a group of European scientists set out for the UN Climate Convention in Kyoto, Japan – without getting on a plane. Determined not to “contribute … to the problem that the convention was intended to solve,” they traveled across Europe and then through Siberia and China to Japan by train, boat and bike over the course of several weeks.


Even for those of use who aren’t ready to completely swear off traveling by air, the story of the “Climate Train” holds an important lesson about the climate impact of flying: A single international flight can emit as much greenhouse gas per passenger as a year of driving.

At those times when we have no choice but to take a journey by plane, we can still mitigate the harm to the environment caused by the flight by offsetting the emissions from that trip.


Carbon Offsets Defined

By purchasing carbon offsets, you help fund a project that prevents one ton of greenhouse gases from being emitted for each ton that you have caused. Carbon offset providers sell the greenhouse gas reductions associated with projects like wind farms or methane-capture facilities to customers who want to offset the emissions they caused by flying, driving, or using electricity. (Though they’re called “carbon” offsets, they offset all greenhouse gases that cause global warming, from carbon dioxide to methane.)

For example, if a scientist had had no choice but to fly to the Kyoto convention, she couldn’t prevent that flight from producing tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs). But she could balance out that impact by investing in a project that reduces global warming emissions, such as a new wind power project that displaces coal energy.

That's where carbon offset programs come in. They help a traveler easily calculate how much of an investment will result in a GHG reduction to match the GHGs generated by her share of the flight. By making that investment and offsetting her flight, a traveler can make her plane trip essentially “carbon neutral.”

Carbon offsetting is one of many economic actions you can take to address climate change, and it is a powerful one. Many promising projects that would help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions lack the capital they need to get built; by directing your offset dollars to these projects, you can help finance new wind farms, solar arrays, and more.

First Step: Do the Math

The first step to reducing the net climate impact of your travel is to calculate how many tons of GHGs will be emitted over the course of your trip. Use an online calculator such as the one offered by NativeEnergy (click on “Travel Calculator”). A round trip flight from Washington, DC, to San Francisco, for example, emits more than two tons of GHGs per passenger.

A Variety of Options

Once you know how many tons of GHGs you’ve added to the atmosphere, select an offset that will reduce GHGs by the same amount. While it’s no replacement for reducing our carbon emissions to begin with, buying carbon offsets is a “compelling way to channel funds to projects that will result in a low-carbon future,” says Adam Stein of TerraPass.

Your offset purchases can support a wide variety of forward-thinking projects that reduce GHG emissions, including:

• Green tags from current renewable energy generation. Energy customers who wish to support wind and solar power can already do so by purchasing renewable energy certificates, also known as “RECs,” or “green tags.” Green tags represent the environmental benefits generated by existing green energy facilities like wind turbines or solar arrays. Consumers without green power options can purchase green tags as a way of supporting renewable energy generation. Or, utility companies that offer their customers green energy options may simply purchase green tags on their behalf from an outside green power facility, rather than building their own.

Because putting more renewable energy into the electric grid will, over time, reduce the energy that GHG-spewing coal plants need to put in, renewable energy also promises to reduce global warming emissions. Therefore, some carbon offset providers sell green tags as carbon offsets. For example, the Climate Trust offers green tag offsets associated with wind farms in Oregon.

• Green tags from future renewable energy projects. NativeEnergy takes an innovative approach to selling green tags as offsets. Instead of offering them from existing green energy facilities, it sells green tags from facilities that are yet to be built, representing the environmental benefits these future projects will generate. In this way, green tag and offset purchases through NativeEnergy help fund construction of new wind turbines and other projects. Better still, these green energy projects are all owned and operated by Native American tribes and small-scale farmers in the US, providing economic benefits to these populations.

In short, NativeEnergy’s model makes new green energy facilities financially viable that would have otherwise lacked the capital to go forward, increasing clean energy generation capacity and building the infrastructure for a low-carbon future.

• Sustainable development projects. Some providers use offset purchases to fund “clean development” projects in developing countries, which both fight poverty and reduce GHG emissions. MyClimate™ (which sells offsets in the US through Sustainable Travel International) has created a small hydraulic power station in Indonesia that will generate clean, reliable energy for a Sumatran community. In Eritrea, they have installed hundreds of solar water heaters for schools.

• Farm and landfill methane projects. NativeEnergy also uses offset purchases to install methane digesters on family farms in Pennsylvania to capture methane, a potent greenhouse gas generated by livestock. “Digesters” use the methane to generate power (described lovingly as “re-moo-able” energy). Other offset providers support similar projects to capture and convert methane that rises out of landfills.

• Other projects. Offset providers support other creative projects that reduce GHG emissions. The Climate Trust sells offsets to fund the electrification of truck stops, so trucks won’t have to idle while they’re waiting to refuel, and to support a “Climate Cool Concrete” program that gets Portland construction projects to use a blended cement that causes lower emissions.

What to Look For

The market in carbon offsets has grown rapidly, and standards for the industry are still evolving. Particularly because you can’t see or touch a reduction of greenhouse gases, and because prices per ton vary widely among providers, purchasing a reputable offset can be confusing.

“Almost anyone can offer to sell you almost anything and claim that this purchase will make you carbon-neutral,” concludes a recent study by Trexler Climate + Energy Services. “It is very difficult for consumers … to differentiate between a high-quality and a low-quality offering.”

Below, we offer a few general guidelines for selecting a high-quality carbon offset:

• Reduce your impact first. Only purchase a carbon offset after you’ve looked for ways to reduce your emissions by flying less, driving less, driving a higher mileage car, or reducing your home energy use.

• Look for offsets that support specific projects. Don’t settle for a vague claim from an offset provider. When travelers purchase a Flight TerraPass™, for example, they receive a “product content label” describing the specific carbon-reducing projects “contained” in their offset.

• Look for offsets that will cause carbon reductions that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. For an offset purchase to be meaningful, the purchase has to cause a new carbon reduction corresponding with the new emissions you caused, rather than taking credit for a reduction that would have happened anyway. MyClimate™, for example, is careful to support specific clean development projects where their investment will make the difference between the project happening (and reducing GHGs) or not happening.

• Look for offsets whose GHG reductions will happen on a clear timeframe. Ask offset providers when the offset you are buying today will result in a reduction, and use that information in selecting a provider.

• Look for offset providers that ensure your offset can’t be re-sold. Offset providers deal in an invisible product, so they must take pains to demonstrate that they sell each offset only once. For example, NativeEnergy retires all green tags purchased as offsets by donating them to a nonprofit so they can’t be double-sold.

• Look for offset providers that are independently verified. There is currently no common standard or certification that guarantees offset quality. The best offset providers find various ways to assure customers that a knowledgeable third party has examined and approved their practices. For example, TerraPass hired the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) to perform an independent audit of their program, and it made the document available online.

Several organizations, including CRS and the Climate Group (TCG), are currently working with offset providers to develop a common standard for carbon offsets. A certification of offsets, such as CRS’ “green-e Greenhouse Gas Reduction Standard,” or TCG’s “Voluntary Carbon Standard,” may be available to guide customers within the coming year. We’ll announce it in our Real Green newsletter when new shared standards and certifications become available.

• Avoid offsets based on tree-planting projects. Planting trees feels good, and projects that plant trees can be easier to love than projects involving something as mundane as cow methane or cement. However, there are much better offset programs than those that involve trees. It’s very hard to calculate how much CO2 a given forest will “breathe in.” And, some offset providers base their calculations for a tree planted today on the CO2 it will take in over its entire lifetime, which is decades after the emissions associated with the flight or drive being offset. Bottom line: when it comes to carbon offsets, planting trees is not the best bet. However, planting trees has other environmental benefits, and we encourage tree planting for these reasons.

• Avoid offsets that purchase “allowances” on a climate exchange. When companies want to reduce their emissions, they can trade GHG reductions that exceeded their targets with other companies by using the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). CCX does good work in the business sector, but you may want to avoid purchasing offsets based on CCX allowances.

Offset providers that purchase allowances from the CCX and offer them to individuals as carbon offsets often cannot name the specific projects that generated the reductions they are selling. Offset customers have a right to know exactly what reduction they are purchasing, and to receive assurances that it wouldn’t have happened without their purchase.

If you’re a conscientious consumer who tries to live a low-emission lifestyle, consider offsetting the remaining emissions for which you are responsible. And spread the word to others—many offset vendors will send a luggage tag when you purchase air travel offsets or a bumper sticker when you purchase car offsets.

—Joelle Novey
From : http://www.greenamericatoday.org/pubs/realgreen/articles/carbonoffsets.cfm
Read More..

How to take a part in reduction of global warming

1. Identify sources of carbon dioxide production in your daily life. For most people, one of main sources of carbon dioxide emissions is driving. Cars and trucks are responsible for 25% of all U.S. carbon emissions. Other sources of carbon emissions include air travel, household energy use, and products that are shipped long distances.
2. Reduce your greenhouse gas emissions directly. Conservation is easier than you think, and often pays for itself through energy savings:
o Drive less, increase the fuel efficiency of your car, or consider living without a car altogether.


o Save on heating and electricity in your home. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. Install better insulation and windows. If you're feeling ambitious, use solar energy to heat your pool or make your own electricity.
o Look for locally grown foods by shopping at a farmers market.
3. Calculate your “carbon footprint,” the sum of carbon emissions from all your carbon-producing activities. The method of calculation depends on the activity. For example, if you know the average MPG of your car you can figure out your driving footprint fairly easily. There are plenty of online calculators to help. (see sources below). Some calculators vary in their methodologies, so you may want to read the fine print closely.
4. Understand how offsetting works. Carbon offset providers balance out your carbon impact by ensuring that somewhere else on the planet, an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide is reduced as a result of your offset purchase. Generally speaking, except with reforestation projects, which can sequester emissions currently in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide isn’t removed from the atmosphere; rather emissions of new carbon dioxide are prevented. In either case, the environmental benefit is the same. Different offset providers have different ways of reducing carbon. Furthermore, the projects they sponsor for carbon reduction can pop up anywhere on the planet, from methane digesters at dairies in Minnesota to wind farms in India.
5. Find a quality provider of carbon offsets. Because carbon offsets are fairly intangible, you need to take precautions to ensure that your purchase is having the intended impact. Here are some issues to look out for:
o Are the projects certified according to industry standards and verified by third-parties? A variety of standards such as the U.N. Clean Development Mechanism, Chicago Climate Exchange, Environmental Resources Trust, California Climate Action Registry, Voluntary Carbon Standard, Green-e Climate and Gold Standard provide assurance that projects follow rigorous quality metrics. Environmental Defense and the U.S. EPA Climate Leaders program also have standards they endorse for high-quality offsets.
o Is the offset provider's portfolio audited? Like a financial audit, this ensures your money was used for the purposes you designated.
6. Comparison sites such as Carbon Catalog and EcoBusinessLinks can make it much easier to evaluate the options available.
7. Buy the offset! Most offset providers sell through the Internet, so you’ll be able to buy with a credit card and get confirmation of your new clean-living, clean-driving status within minutes.


Read More..

LIST OF COMMON STANDARDS CERTIFICATION

The following are list of common standards certification in the marketplace :

Green-e Energy

Green-e Energy is the largest certification standard for renewable energy certificates in the United States. Ecosystem Marketplace estimates that about 80% of the entire domestic renewable energy market in 2006 was certified by Green-e Energy. That’s roughly 10 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy!

Carbonfund.org offers commercial supporters Green-e Energy certified RECs. Visit our Buy Green Power section for more information.

Green-e is administered by the Center for Resource Solutions, a nonprofit founded in 1997 to provide real-time solutions to climate change. The group spent nearly a year pulling together experts from the National Resources Defense Council, the World Resources Institute, the EPA, and other groups to develop the program.


The Center is also preparing to launch Green-e Climate, a new program aimed at including the quantified emissions reductions from renewable energy in the certification, along with more types of offsets, including sequestration and efficiency projects.

The Green-e Energy certification is designed to promote the development of new renewable energy sources while providing consumer protection services.


Eligible energy sources include solar, wind, geothermal, hydro (under select circumstances), biomass (under select circumstances), biodiesel, and fuel cells (provided the hydrogen was produced from renewable sources).
Only new sources, or those that began operation after January 1, 1997, are eligible.
Energy that is being used to meet state or federal mandates cannot be certified Green-e unless the facility is producing energy above and beyond the amount required by the mandate.
Eligible renewable energy can be sold as such once and only once.
Marketers and utilities offering Green-e certified power undergo a twice-annual marketing compliance review, as well as an annual verification process audit.
Green-e Energy’s complete set of standards can be downloaded here.





Environmental Resources Trust (ERT)

The Environmental Resources Trust, a program of Winrock International, is one of the most recognized renewable energy and reforestation certifications in the U.S. The organization, founded in 1996 with the help of Environmental Defense, is particularly focused on demonstrating the potential for market-based environmental solutions.

ERT also operates one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) registries in the U.S. In operation since 1997, the registry uses a serialized tracking system to ensure accurate emissions tracking for over 100 million tons of GHG emissions, including 21 million tons of emission reductions.

ERT employs standards similar to those used by the Voluntary Carbon Standard and others to verify carbon sequestration and renewable energy projects throughout the United States. Detailed information for each project listed on the ERT’s registry can be found here.





Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS)

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards, the name for the certification developed by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), are exactly what they say: a comprehensive set of standards that take into account a land-based carbon reduction project’s impact on the climate, local community, and regional biodiversity.

Released in 2005, the standards were developed through a broad partnership between the nonprofit and private environmental communities. The partnership includes world-class organizations such as Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and CARE.

The CCBS certification provides project managers with a practical tool to evaluate and develop land-based carbon reduction projects. The certification requires developers to go beyond what is required of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by generating positive community and biodiversity benefits. Projects from all over the world are eligible and all land-use activities are covered, including reforestation and agricultural carbon sequestration. CCBS currently has over 80 projects under development using their standards.

The full Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards can be viewed here.





Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)

The Voluntary Carbon Standard is the result of more than two years of consultation headed by some of the most internationally respected groups in the field, including The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association and the World Economic Forum. The standard is one of the newest and most comprehensive to date.

The most recent set of standards, known as VCS Program Guidelines 2007.1 was released in November 2008. In addition to providing its own set of rigorous standards, VCS is building international consensus by reviewing other existing standards and endorsing them as approved VCS programs. To date, approved VCS programs include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the UNFCCC’s Joint Implementation (JI). The Californian Climate Action Registry is currently undergoing the approval process for becoming an approved program.

VCS-certified offsets must be real, additional, measurable, permanent, and independently verified. The certification is designed to standardize and bring transparency to the voluntary carbon offset market, as well as create a trusted and tradable offset credit, called a Voluntary Carbon Unit.

VCS’s complete methodologies can be viewed here.





The Gold Standard

The Gold Standard is widely used for projects aimed at satisfying the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation programs, although it may also be used in the voluntary carbon offset market. Launched in 2003 by the World Wildlife Foundation, SouthSouthNorth, and Helio International, the standard also carries the endorsement of more than 49 non-governmental organizations worldwide.

The Gold Standard is heavily used in the European carbon markets. The standard focuses exclusively on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects under the belief that large-scale shifting demand to clean energy technologies is the most effective long-term solution to global climate change.

The Gold Standard, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland, awards the certification based on an independent verification of its own rigorous standards of project design, greenhouse gas reduction, and additionality. Organizations performing the verifications are accredited by the United Nations.

The Gold Standard’s project developer manuals and design documents are available here.





Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Environmental Protection Agency does not administer a certification program, but it does have a series of rigorous methodologies in place to administer its highly successful Green Power Partnership program. The program now boasts over 600 partners purchasing billions of kilowatt hours each year.

The top 25 purchasers alone, a group that includes companies like Pepsi Co., Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, and Whole Foods, buy roughly 6.2 billion kilowatt hours of clean energy annually.

Buying green power under the EPA guidelines is similar to purchasing carbon offsets. The projects must be verified through a transparent process that ensures the greenhouse gas reductions are real, measurable, additional, and independently verified.

More information on the standards used in the program can be viewed at the EPA’s Green Power Partnership homepage here.


Read More..

EMISSION TRADING

Emissions trading (or emission trading) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is sometimes called cap and trade.


A coal power plant in Germany. Due to emissions trading, coal may become less competitive as a fuel.A central authority (usually a government or international body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to hold an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to emit a specific amount. The total amount of allowances and credits cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Companies that need to increase their emission allowance must buy credits from those who pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions by more than was needed. Thus, in theory, those that can easily reduce emissions most cheaply will do so, achieving the pollution reduction at the lowest possible cost to society.[1]

There are active trading programs in several pollutants. For greenhouse gases the largest is the European Union Emission Trading Scheme.[2] In the United States there is a national market to reduce acid rain and several regional markets in nitrogen oxides.[3] Markets for other pollutants tend to be smaller and more localized

Read More..

CARBON STANDARD WORK

The hallmarks of quality carbon offsets are third-party certification standards, verification, and auditing. All Carbonfund.org offset projects are verified by a third party to the highest certification standards. This sort of review, coupled with an annual third-party audit of our finances and portfolio, ensure that our donors are supporting only high-quality, transparent carbon offset projects.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. How exactly does the process work?
Nonprofit organizations with special experience in a particular field, such as reforestation, develop a certification standard in that field, usually after an extensive discussion period to solicit input from other leading organizations. The standard then lays out in detail what criteria a project needs to meet to ensure real, measurable, permanent, additional greenhouse gas reductions. Once the standard is established, a project developer can choose to have its project verified according to the standard. To do this, it hires a third party verifier to investigate whether their project satisfies all the standard’s criteria. The verifier submits its report for review by the certification body. The certification body reviews the report, and, if it meets the criteria, issues its seal of approval. The project is now certified.
2. Is certification the same thing as verification?
No. Certification refers to the standard itself. Verification refers to the process of determining whether a project meets that standard.

3. Does the certification process ensure that my donation results in “additional�? greenhouse gas reductions?
Yes. Additionality refers to whether your donation really helps reduce more carbon dioxide emissions, or whether those reductions would have happened anyway. Each certification standard includes an objective set of criteria to ensure additionality.

4. Why are there so many different certification standards?
There are different standards for different types of project. The experts who know how to ensure a high-quality reforestation project are quite different from those who know how to ensure a high-quality wind project.

5. Is one certification standard better than another?
Experts from each of the certification standards never hesitate to say why their standard is the best. The truth is that the major certification standards out there agree on far more than they disagree. While some details may vary, there is broad-based agreement on what criteria need to be met to ensure a high-quality carbon offset project
Read More..

CARBON OFFSET

A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.
There are two markets for carbon offsets. In the larger, compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit. In 2006, about $5.5 billion of carbon offsets were purchased in the compliance market, representing about 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e reductions.

In the much smaller, voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel. Many companies (see list) offer carbon offsets as an up-sell during the sales process so that customers can mitigate the emissions related with their product or service purchase (such as offsetting emissions related to a vacation flight, car rental, hotel stay, consumer good, etc). In 2008, about $705 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market, representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO2e reductions.
Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short- or long-term. The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane, and forestry projects. Some of the most popular carbon offset projects from a corporate perspective are energy efficiency and wind turbine projects.
Carbon offsetting has gained some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles and economies. The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded on a marketplace. The protocol established the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which validates and measures projects to ensure they produce authentic benefits and are genuinely "additional" activities that would not otherwise have been undertaken. Organizations that are unable to meet their emissions quota can offset their emissions by buying CDM-approved Certified Emissions Reductions.
Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient alternatives to reducing one's own fossil-fuel consumption. However, some critics object to carbon offsets, and question the benefits of certain types of offsets.
Offsets are viewed as an important policy tool to maintain stable economies. One of the hidden dangers of climate change policy is unequal prices of carbon in the economy, which can cause economic collateral damage if production flows to regions or industries that have a lower price of carbon - unless carbon can be purchased from that area, which offsets effectively permit, equalizing the price. Read More..