|
|
|
CARBON PAGE |
|
Greenhouse Gases |
|
|
Rising world levels of CO2 from fossil fuel emissions is a major cause of global warming. It is widely accepted that global temperature is increasing because world levels of CO2 are rising. The majority of the CO2 is produced by human activity, specifically by the burning of fossil fuels in power plants, automobiles, and deforestation.
Lowering these CO2 levels is being addressed by two major approaches. Non-fossil fuel approaches include nuclear, wind, and solar. Removing CO2 from the atmosphere is possible by planting trees. Wood, almost half carbon, provides one of the most commercially viable approaches for sequestering massive amounts of carbon dioxide. The world marketplace has existed since 2004 for carbon sequestration.
|
|
|
| About the North American Carbon Exchange. |
| NoCarbEx is a response to the growing demand by individuals to be a part of the solution to the problem of global warming. NoCarbEx encourages the planting of millions of trees every year by concerned individuals and organizations across North America. NoCarbEx applies its own proprietary methodology to develop carbon dioxide certificates that emitting companies can purchase to offset their own emissions of greenhouse gases. The result is a win-win for all: less greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, less global warming, more trees planted, a better urban environment, and satisfaction by millions of individuals that they can do something to combat global warming for future generations.
|
|
| What Role do Trees Play in Combating Global Warming? |
| Trees are a natural part of the global carbon cycle. When trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide which becomes part of the wood they contain. When trees are cut, burn or die, the carbon dioxide is released back to the atmosphere. The loss of forest cover worldwide has contributed 45% of the increase in atmospheric CO2 since 1850.
Because technologies do not yet exist to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in economic ways, there are only two feasible solutions to the problem of global warming: (i) emit less greenhouse gases, a difficult proposition in the short term because of the dependency of the global economy on fossil fuels, and (ii) planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide.
NoCarbEx is the only mechanism that encourages individuals and organizations to plant trees by rewarding them financially, and by allowing them to be a part of a sound methodology to sequester carbon dioxide.
|
|
| NoCarbEx Standards |
NoCarbEx has developed its own methodology to measure and transparently verify that all carbon dioxide offsets are additional and permanent. The NoCarbEx methodology fully complies or exceeds the principles of all major global warming regulatory regimes (i.e., the Kyoto Protocol, the California Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and most of the draft US Federal Legislation). These principles are:
Additionality. From the perspective of global warming, offsets need to be additional and result in a net decrease of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In other words, the sequestration of greenhouse gases needs to happen in addition to what would happen in the absence of the intervention. Because the NoCarbEx only registers trees that are specifically planted to become part of the NoCarbex inventory, all carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere are truly additional.
Leakage. It is important to ensure that the additional carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere is not emitted elsewhere as a result of the planting of new trees. NoCarbEx has stringent requirements through which the individuals or organizations planting trees commit to plant trees in bare land and avoid the removal of existing trees.
Permanence. The carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by growing trees needs to become "permanently" sequestered. NoCarbEx participants commit to keep the trees planted for a minimum of 40 years and pay a penalty if the tree is removed before this time. Because some trees can die or be lost because of a variety of causes outside of the control of landowners, NoCarbEx maintains a "buffer" to replace any loss in its carbon dioxide registry.
Verification. NoCarbEx is a self-verified mechanism. Every single tree registered with NoCarbEx has a technical data-sheet that is maintained by NoCarbEx showing the type of tree and its expected growth and carbon sequestration potential. All NoCarbEx trees are geo-referenced and can be found easily through Google or other mapping software. In addition, NoCarbEx reserves the right to conduct spot-audits at its discretion.
|
|
|
| Additional Online Resources |
http://carbonfinance.org/
http://cdm.unfccc.int/index.html
http://unfccc.int/2860.php/
http://unfccc.int/essential_background/glossary/items/3666.php
http://cdiac.ornl.gov/about/intro.html
|
|
|
|
|
