United County Real Estate 1st Edition 2024

WHAT ARE FOREST CARBON MARKETS FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATION?

The environment is a serious concern for consumers, business owners, and governments all over the globe. The more science con fi rms the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, the greater the focus on carbon dioxide and its impact on our natural environment. For example, in 2022, the U.S. motor gasoline and diesel fuel consumption emitted around 1,023 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. That is only around 48% of the total carbon emissions from all kinds of industries and sectors. Everything from fossil fuels used to heat a house to a plane ride to Disney results in some CO2 emissions. Why does this matter? Why look closely at carbon emissions? Adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere supercharges the natural greenhouse effect, resulting in rising global temperatures. However, there is a way to fi ght back against these emissions by purchasing lots and credits on the forest carbon market. The next time you fl y Southwest Airlines or United, ask if you can purchase a carbon offset. Each major airline has a mechanism in place so passengers can get the peace of mind they are offsetting their travel by ensuring trees are safe, doing their job of removing carbon dioxide, and protecting them for the future. That is the entire idea behind the forest carbon market. Instead of cutting down trees from a landowner’s property, a broker shows up and promises to pay the owner to stop deforestation or development from happening. Instead, the trees are protected, and the photosynthesis that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air is sold to companies in units. If a business like Ford Motor wants to continue operations without reducing its environmental impact throughef fi ciencies or not using fossil fuels, it can purchase forest carbon market offsets to make up the difference. What is the Forest Carbon Market?

How Does this Work?

The forest carbon market is much like any other marketplace in the world. Instead of looking for a stuffed animal on eBay, you purchase a unit of carbon offsets on land. One forest carbon offset is around one metric ton of carbon dioxide. So, if you have 100 metric tons of carbon emissions, you will need 100 carbon offsets from someone’s land. In most cases, these carbon offset purchases are found in one of three ways: • Credits from replanting trees on acres of land. • Protecting a unit of trees from future harvesting or fi re. • Improving the forest management of an area to boost carbon storage. As you can imagine, the value of selling carbon offsets on the market is carefully watched by owners and entrepreneurs alike. The good news is that reducing carbon dioxide emissions of any kind bene fi ts everyone, not just the landowners and businesses seeking to offset their processes. Carbon farm markets have resulted in the emergence of “carbon farming” and “regenerative agriculture.” These are processes where a landowner cultivates the area for trees to sell to a carbon broker for a pro fi t. You can also combine carbon offsets with clean energy. For instance, there is a way to have a wind farm on the land to produce royalties while also receiving carbon credits and offsets using the soil, trees, and grazing area. You could even grow fl owers for bees and sell those carbon offsets. What Does this Mean for Landowners?

Sources: eia.gov, statista.com, washingtonpost.com