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USDA Role in the Preparation of Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry

USDA Role in the Preparation of Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry. William Hohenstein Global Change Program Office March 23, 2005. On February 14, 2002, President Bush directed:.

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USDA Role in the Preparation of Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry

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  1. USDA Role in the Preparation of Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry William Hohenstein Global Change Program Office March 23, 2005

  2. On February 14, 2002, President Bush directed: The Secretary of Energy, In consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to propose improvements to the current voluntary emissions reductions registration program under section 1605(b) of the 1992 Energy Policy Act…; The Secretary of Energy to recommend reforms to ensure that businesses and individuals that register reductions are not penalized under future climate policy and to give transferable credits to companies that can show real reductions; The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, to develop accounting rules and guidelines for crediting sequestration projects, taking into account emerging domestic and international approaches; The Secretary of Agriculture,to develop new targeted incentives for carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reductions.

  3. Timeline for Public Review and Release of 1605b Guidelines March ‘05 Public review of proposed revised guidelines --DOE public workshop – April 26-27 --USDA public workshop on agriculture and forestry guidelines – May 5 Release of revised 1605(b) guidelines 60 days

  4. Importance for USDA • Provides landowners with a tool to quantify and record greenhouse gas benefits of actions such as: • Using no-till agriculture • Installing a methane digester • Improving nutrient management • Managing forestland • Provides opportunities for agriculture and forestry to: • Partner with industry • Document benefits of actions for future use • Link reporting with conservation programs, e.g., CSP

  5. Components of Proposed Revised 1605(b) Guidelines • General Guidelines • Initial draft submitted for public comment (12/03) • Final Draft Guidelines to be issued concurrent with Proposed Technical Guidelines • Technical Guidelines • Chapter 1: Inventory guidelines • Methods for quantifying sources and sinks of greenhouse gases • Appendices with detailed coefficients and protocols • Chapter 2: Guidelines for emission reduction reporting • Methods for quantifying and registering reductions in greenhouse gases • Forms and Instructions • Electronic and hard copies being prepared • Are not part of public comment process

  6. Features of the Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting System • Overall quality of reported information will improve • Consistent inventory methods. Inventory method rating system to determine eligibility for registration • Requirements in order to “register reductions” • Large entities (emissions over 10,000 tons CO2/yr) must report annual entity-wide inventories of GHG emissions and sinks to be eligible to register reductions • Small entities (emissions less than 10,000 tons CO2/yr) can register reductions from specific activities • Aggregators can report emissions and reductions of other entities • Pre-2003 activities: Only allow activities beginning on 1/1/02 to be registered

  7. Reductions Can be Calculated as: • Changes in emissions intensity • Changes in absolute emissions (if not resulting from declines in output) • Changes in carbon storage • “Registered Reductions” = Annual Carbon Stock Change (if positive) • Changes in avoided emissions (resulting from energy sales) • Action-specific emissions reductions (when other methods are not appropriate/feasible) • Reductions associated with “emission-free” energy

  8. Estimation Method Ratings (4 Criteria: Accuracy, Reliability, Verifiability, and Practical Application) Entities seeking to register reductions must maintain a weighted average rating of greater than 3.0

  9. USDA Contributions to the DOE 1605(b) Guidelines • Inventory methods for agriculture sources • Enteric fermentation • Animal waste • Rice cultivation • Crop residue burning • Nutrient and lime applications • Inventory methods for agricultural soil carbon sequestration • COMET model – produces default sequestration rates • Protocols for periodic sampling • Inventory methods for forest and wood products carbon stocks and fluxes • Default tables by region, species, management intensity, productivity class • Measurement and sampling protocols • Guidance on the use of models • COLE model – produces default forest carbon sequestration rates • Methods for estimating reductions from carbon sequestration

  10. Issues Related to Forestry and Agriculture • How does the system ensure that reductions are maintained over time? • The system requires continuous reporting. • Once carbon sequestration is registered – the entity must continue to report each year. • If a registry shows a negative balance (carbon stock losses) the losses are reported in EIA documents and the entity cannot register additional reductions • Can land owners receive reductions by shifting practices? • No, large entities must provide comprehensive inventories of all greenhouse gas sources and sinks. • Small entities must certify that the actions being reported do not cause an increase in emissions elsewhere under the entities’ control.

  11. Treatment of Forests in Proposed 1605b Guidelines Natural Disturbance: • Reporters may choose to exclude losses resulting from natural disturbances from their registered reductions. Natural disturbances include: • Fire, • Pest, • Extreme weather, or • Disease • Reporters must continue to track carbon stocks on lands that have experienced disturbances. • Once carbon stocks have returned to pre-disturbance levels, additional carbon can be registered.

  12. Treatment of Forests in Proposed 1605b Guidelines Sustainably Managed Forests: • Reporters may assume that there is no change in carbon stocks on forest land that is certified as sustainably managed by a third-party, such as: • The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) • Forest Stewardship Council • The American Tree Farm System • Green Tag Forestry; National Woodlands Owners Association • It is highly unlikely that long-term carbon inventories on certified sustainable managed forests are declining. • While reporters can reduce the inventory burden by excluding these lands – • Reporters may benefit by including them in their inventories, if carbon stock levels are increasing.

  13. Treatment of Forests in Proposed 1605b Guidelines Incidental Lands • Incidental lands are a minor component of an entity’s operations and are not actively managed for production of goods and services (e.g., right of ways). • Reporters may choose to assume there is no change in carbon stocks on incidental lands as long as they are not converted to other uses during the reporting period. • Entities must report on the area and type of incidental lands owned and certify that the land use has not changed.

  14. Treatment of Forests in Proposed 1605b Guidelines Forest Preservation • Entities that conserve existing forest carbon stocks can report and register reductions from these actions. • The land must be placed under: • Permanent conservation easements, or • Have deed restrictions that limit their use and ensure the conservation of existing carbon stocks. • Entities can register 1/100th of the base carbon stocks on those lands plus any incremental carbon stocks gained each year.

  15. Treatment of Forests in Proposed 1605b Guidelines Harvested Wood Products • Responsibility for sequestration and emissions are assigned to land owner. • Users of wood products would not report on emissions from wood products, treating the carbon emissions as biogenic. • Land owners can either: • Use models to estimate and track the changes in wood products carbon pools from lands harvested, reporting the changes in each subsequent year, or • Use an estimate of the 100-yr residual carbon stock and count that amount in the year of harvest.

  16. Next Steps Review • DOE has initiated a 60-day public review period • Public meetings • Web sites • www.usda.gov/oce/gcpo/greenhousegasreporting.htm • www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/ Technical assistance, outreach, and education • Determine roles for USDA cooperators (i.e., extension service, state conservationists, NRCS Technical Centers, and field offices). • Continue research to improve measurement, monitoring, and verification • Technical Assistance and Outreach • Demonstrations • User-friendly manuals • Training sessions • Guidance to technical support providers

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