Carbon offsets : examining their role in greenhouse gas reduction / Karen T. Morningstar, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Morningstar, Karen T.

Series:

Climate change and its causes, effects, and prediction series.

Climate change and its causes, effects and prediction series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Carbon sequestration--Measurement.

Carbon sequestration.

Greenhouse gas mitigation.

Greenhouse gases.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (182 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Nova Science Publishers, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This text looks at carbon offsets which provide a way for individuals, businesses, and governments to address concerns about the impact of their greenhouse gas emissions on the Earth's climate by paying others to undertake activities that reduce, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gases.

Contents:

Intro

CARBON OFFSETS: EXAMINING THEIR

Contents

Preface

Carbon Offsets: The U.S. Voluntary Market Is Growing, but Quality Assurance Poses Challenges for Market Participants

Why GAO Did This Study

What GAO Recommends

What GAO Found

Abbreviations

Results in Brief

The U.S. Voluntary Market Is Growing Rapidly with Limited Federal Oversight

The Market Includes a Range of Participants, Prices, and Transaction Types

Project Developers Generate Offsets from a Wide Range of Activities

The Scope of the Market Is Uncertain, but Supply Is Growing Rapidly

The Federal Government Plays a Small Role in the Market

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration

Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Trade Commission

U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

A Variety of Quality Assurance Mechanisms Are Available and Used, but Information on the Credibility of Offsets Is Limited

Quality Assurance Mechanisms Are Available and Applied to Offset Projects, but the Extent of Their Use Is Uncertain

Market Participants Face Challenges in Ensuring the Credibility of Offsets

Information Provided to Consumers Offers Limited Assurance of Credibility

Both Increased Federal Oversight and the Use of Offsets in Climate Change Policies Involve Trade-Offs between Cost and Credibility

More Oversight of the Voluntary Market Involves Trade-offs between Credibility and Cost

Offsets Could Lower the Cost of Future Mitigation Policies but Increase Uncertainty about Achieving Emissions Reductions

Concluding Observations

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology.

Appendix II: Description of Offset Project Types

Appendix III: Volume and Number of Offset Projects by State in 2007

Appendix IV: Description of the Purchase of Carbon Offsets by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives

Appendix V: Summary of Stakeholder Responses to Interview Questions

Appendix VI: Summaries of Selected International, Regional, and State Programs

Appendix VII: Selected Carbon Offset Standards Appendix

End Notes

Measuring and Monitoring Carbon in the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Summary

Purpose of Measuring Forest and Agricultural Carbon

Decisions Needed in Setting Measurement Requirements

Scale and Baseline

Periodicity

Verification

Measurement Techniques

On-Site Measurement

Indirect Measurement with Off-Site Tools

Estimation Using Process Models or Inferences.

Considerations for Congress

Potential Offset Supply in a

Cap-and-Trade Program

Mitigation Potential

Policy Choices

Economic Factors

Emission Allowance Price

Other Factors

Introduction

What Is a Cap-and-Trade System?

Factors Affecting Offset Supply

Elements of Uncertainty

Competition for Land Use

Bio fuel Production

Estimates from Agriculture and Forestry Activities

Mitigation Potential Estimates in Context

Estimates from Other Activities

Design of the Cap-and-Trade Program

Scope of the Cap

Eligible Offset Types

Offset Protocols

Set-Asides

Actions in Other Nations or U.S. States

Other Policy Influences

Offset Use in a Cap-and-Trade Program

Regulating a Carbon Market: Issues Raised by the European Carbon and U.S. Sulfur Dioxide Allowance Markets

Introduction.

The European Emissions Trading System (ETS)

Background

What is Regulated

How Exchanges Are Regulated

Lessons from the ETS

The U.S. Sulfur Dioxide Trading Program (Title IV)

Administering the Program: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Allowance Accounting

Allowance Auctions

Interface with Electricity Regulation: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs)

FERC Allowance Accounting

State Public Utility Commissions

Allowance Transactions

Internal Transfers

Over the Counter: Cash Market, Futures and Options

Regulation of Allowances as an Exempt Commodity: Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Definition

Regulation of Trading Venues

Lessons and Observations from Title IV Program

Implications for a Future U.S. Carbon Market: Regulatory Issues

An Efficient Trading and Pricing Mechanism

Fraud and Manipulation

Investor Fraud

Inside Information

Market Manipulation

Transparency versus Confidentiality

Concluding Remarks

Appendix: Regulation of EU Emissions Exchanges

European Climate Exchange (ECX)

BlueNext

Nord Pool

European Energy Exchange (EEX)

The Role of Offsets in a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cap-and-Trade Program: Potential Benefits and Concerns

Offsets: An Overview

Voluntary Offsets

Offset Types and Examples

Biological Sequestration

Renewable Energy Projects

Energy Efficiency

Non-CO2 Emissions Reduction

Policy Alternatives to Offsets

Potential Benefits of Offsets

Cost-Effectiveness

Potential Co-Benefits

Potential Benefits to Developing Nations

Other Potential Domestic Benefits

Potential Concerns

Supplementarity

Integrity Concerns

Additionality

Measurement

Double-Counting.

Permanence

Leakage

Delay of Technology Development

Transaction Costs

Concerns in Developing Nations

Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Hearing - Kelly Testimony(

National Mitigation Banking Association and Mitigation Banking

Carbon

Forestry Projects

Conclusion

Voluntary Carbon Offsets:

Overview and Assessment

What Are Carbon Offsets?

The Size of the Voluntary Carbon Offset Market

Carbon Offset Integrity Issues

Baseline Determination

Double Counting

Permanence

Carbon Offset Types and Potential Integrity Concerns

Reduction of Non-CO2 Emissions from Specific Sources

Assessment of Carbon Offset Sellers

Congressional Activity

Conclusions

Chapter Sources

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record; title from PDF title page, viewed (07/06/2020).

ISBN:

1-61761-496-3