The past and future of greenhouse gas offset projects
- Trexler and Associates, Inc., Portland, OR (United States)
Researchers now have almost 10 years of experience with on-the-ground carbon offset projects for climate change mitigation purposes. The field is evolving from one driven primarily by public and governmental relations, to one driven by companies` perceived need to adapt to anticipated national and international regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Offset project participants are seeking to identify offset opportunities, come up the regulatory and technical learning curves, and identify new market opportunities. Offset projects being implemented today can be evaluated through several lenses including offset performance and benefit quantification, cost-effectiveness, and political and environmental acceptability. Careful evaluation of existing offset experience is important in order to guide national and international policy development. This paper will review the history and trends of offset project development, use existing experience to identify advantages and disadvantages associated with different offsets, and identify lessons that can guide future project development. The lead author carried out the CO{sub 2} benefit analysis for the first offset project (AES Corp.`s CARE Guatemala reforestation project), and has developed and evaluated dozens of domestic and international offset projects and proposals. The authors` company is currently implementing more than a half-dozen offset projects and they are intimately involved in ongoing technical and policy development of the field.
- OSTI ID:
- 351186
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970677--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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