The document provides an outline and information about carbon offset projects. It discusses that The Climate Trust was founded in 1997 to acquire carbon offsets for new power plants regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard. It developed processes to evaluate, quantify, verify and register offset projects. The document also discusses the types of offset projects including forestry, agriculture, cookstoves, and fertilizer. It provides examples of offset projects in Latin America.

1. Outline
• What is the Climate Trust? Christine
• Who are we? Teresa and Christine
• Why carbon market and not GHG market? Teresa
• What is a carbon offset? Christine (and flow chart)
• How did carbon offsets and carbon markets come about? Teresa
• Quality offsets, general principles and how do you make an offset? Teresa
• Voluntary carbon market standards V vs C Christine
• Types of projects
– Forestry Christine
– ACOGs Teresa
– Cookstoves Christine
– Fertilizer Teresa
– OWD Teresa
– Biochar Teresa
– Others Christine
• Where to go for more information (links to share;T&C collaborate)
• Examples of projects in Latin America (T&C each find a favorite)
• Organizations doing projects (Christine to bug Teresa)

2. • Mission: To provide expertise, financing, and inspiration to accelerate
innovative climate solutions that endure
• Founded in 1997 to acquire carbon offsets on behalf of new power
plants regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard
• Developed processes in house to evaluate and compare potential
projects, quantify, verify, and register offsets
• Carbon Asset Management
– compliance and voluntary programs (OR, WA, MT, MA, CA, Colorado
Carbon Fund, NW Natural Smart Energy)
– $15.5M in 10 project sectors, focus on agriculture, forestry, and
biogas
• Climate Services
• Policies & Standards

3. Our Specialties
• Christine Yankel
Forestry Specialist
• Teresa Koper
Agricultural Specialist

4. Why Carbon?
http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/basics/today/greenhouse-gases.html

5. What is a carbon offset?
• A carbon offset is the reduction or
sequestration of carbon dioxide or
greenhouse gas made to compensate for or
offset emissions produced elsewhere

6. Carbon Accounting Principles
• Baseline – business as usual scenario
• Additionality – reducing GHG emissions to
below the baseline (additional to business as
usual)
• Permanence – permanent reduction of
emissions
• No Leakage – direct emissions elsewhere
caused by the emission reduction in the
project/program

7. Farmers
plant trees.
Trees grow,
absorbing CO2.
Quantifiers record
baseline data and
measure trees.
Tree data is used to
calculate carbon
stored in the trees.
3rd party
auditors confirm
methods and
results.
Certified carbon
offsets are issued
and sold.
Farmers are paid an
advance on carbon
in their trees.
Carbon Credits: Seedling to Sale
 CO2e
Farmers receive
70% of profits.

8. Compliance and voluntary carbon
markets:
• Compliance markets: (Kyoto Protocol, EU Emissions Trading
System, California Air Resources Board) governments and
regulated facilities have mandatory, legal emission
obligations, and can use offsets, such as CERs, as an
alternative to reducing their own emissions.
• Voluntary market offset programs such as the Gold
Standard (GS), the American Carbon Registry (ACR), and the
Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) issue offsets that can be
used by businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals
electing to offset their emissions for other reasons, such as
corporate or individual social responsibility.
• Additional standards, like Climate, Community, and
Biodiversity Alliance, measure co-benefits of projects

9. Carbon offset projects are diverse
FIGURE 7: TRANSACTED VOLUME BY PROJECT CATEGORY, OTC 2012
MtCO2e and % Share
Notes: Findings pertain to the 75.5 MtCO2e associated with a response to this question, including “N/A” and “Other”.
Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013.

10. FIGURE 24: MARKET SHARE BY PROJECT TYPE, OTC 2012
% Share
Notes: Findings pertain to the 75.5 MtCO2e associated with a response to this question, including “N/A” and “Other”.
Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013.

11. Latin America is home to many carbon
offset projects
• 2012 7.2 MtCO2
• Forestry most developed.
REDD and cookstove projects
important.
• Seeds of growth planted in
the region, with
governments in Acre (Brazil),
Colombia, and Chile signing
agreements with VCS to
establish stronger
frameworks for their
domestic carbon markets,
and Mexico passing a law to
pursue a domestic emissions
trading scheme.

12. FIGURE 10: FLOW OF TRANSACTED VOLUMES BY OFFSET SUPPLIER AND BUYER REGION, OTC 2012
MtCO2e
Notes: Based on 80 MtCO2 associated with either offset project or buyer location.
Source: Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2013

13. Agriculture Sector Project Types
• Avoided Conversion of Land Use
• Nutrient Management (Fertilizers)
• Organic Waste Digestion
• Biochar

14. For More Information:
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)
• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
• Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)

15. Data Collection
Phones used for data
collection
Various Forms

16. Carbon offset project locations
http://www.vcsprojectdatabase.org/
Tecamac – EcoMethane Landfill Gas to Energy Project-Mexico
Oaxaca II Wind Energy Project-Mexico
The Chocó-Darién Conservation Corridor REDD Project, COLOMBIA

17. A bit of history…
• The Climate Trust was founded in 1997 to acquire
carbon offsets on behalf of new power plants
regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard
• Developed processes in house to evaluate and
compare potential projects, quantify, verify, and
register offsets  Oregon Standard
– Deschutes Riparian Reforestation
– Arlecho Creek Forest Preservation
– Ecuadorian Rainforest Restoration

18. Lessons Learned:
• By 2012, 98% of transacted forest carbon offsets
certified to a project standard
• Consolidated, standardized protocols reduce risks
and costs for all participants; creating these and
support infrastructure for customized expensive,
complex
• Standards and protocols need to be accurate,
transparent, conservative, and practical
• Quality matters
• Scale and support infrastructure matter

19. For more information:
• Ecosystem Marketplace: detailed annual report on voluntary carbon markets.
2013’s is here: http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_3898.pdf
• http://www.fcmcglobal.org/documents/CF_Latin_America.pdf Community forestry
report for Latin America by USAID
• Standards and methodologies:
– Verified Carbon Standard methodologies:http://www.v-c-s.org/methodologies/find
– Gold Standard: http://www.goldstandard.org/
– Climate Action Reserve Mexico Forest protocol:
http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/mexico-forest/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQxdl77TBOI (5 min video on CAR Pronatura
pilot)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59KvzvWkaVM Happy cows help save the
planet Climate Smart Ag
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqRHHWj4I7c A primer on carbon offsets and
how they are made. By BP, but good basic information

20. Forest carbon offset projects
• REDD+ :Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation, plus the conservation
and sustainable management of forests and the
enhancement of forest carbon stocks
• Tree planting (Afforestation/Reforestation)
• Improved forest management (IFM)
• Each type of project has different rules on
eligibility, baseline, and crediting
• Each requires a long-term commitment to
practice change

21. Key takeaways:
• Carbon projects work best when they fit overall land
management goals of communities. Community
benefits need to be greater than the transaction,
management and opportunity costs
• Policy environment needs to support
• Carbon projects need to make business sense:
– Costs
– Carbon offset volumes
– Timing matters
• Identifying a buyer willing to make a contractual
commitment to purchase offsets at volume and terms
sufficient to cover the costs of developing and
maintaining the project is critical

22. Many commonalities across Standards,
but differences matter
• Project Start Date and timing of first and
subsequent Verifications
• Included carbon pools
• Length of commitment, flexibility mechanisms
• Forest Certification requirements
• Treatment of Aggregation