This book is a product of the initial phase of a broader study evaluating the voluntary and regulatory compliance protocols that are used to account for the contributions of forests in U.S.-based greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation programs. The research presented here is particularly concerned with these protocols' use of the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to describe forest conditions, ownership, and management scenarios, and is oriented towards providing regulators and other interested parties with an objective comparison of the options, uncertainties, and opportunities available to offset GHG emissions through forest management. Chapters focus on the protocols for recognizing forest carbon offsets in the California carbon cap-and-trade program, as described in the Compliance Offset Protocol; U.S. Forest Projects (California Air Resources Board, 2011).
Readers will discover the protocols used for quantifying the offset of GHG emissions through forest-related project activity. As such, its scope includes a review of the current methods used in voluntary and compliance forest protocols, an evaluation of the metrics used to assign baselines and determine additionality in the forest offset protocols, an examination of key quantitative and qualitative components and assumptions, and a discussion of opportunities for modifying forest offset protocols, in light of the rapidly changing GHG-related policy and regulatory environment. Finally, the report also discusses accounting and policy issues that create potential barriers to participation in the California cap-and-trade program, and overall programmatic additionality in addressing the needs of a mitigation strategy.
About the Author: Laurel Bates
Laurel Bates graduated with a degree in mathematics from Appalachian State in 2016. She currently works as an economist at RTI International in Durham, NC.
Grant Domke
Grant Domke has leadership responsibilities for forest carbon estimation and accounting within the Forest Inventory and Analysis program of the USDA Forest Service. This program is responsible for reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and removals in the forest land category as part of the United States' commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Alex Helms
Alex Helms holds an MS from Appalachian State University in Accounting. His work is focused on environmental accounting and is particularly interested in equivalency and timing.
Jason Hoyle
Jason Holye is a research analyst for the Appalachian Energy Center. Hoyle has over 10 years' experience developing both renewable energy and carbon offset projects. He also created and currently serves as Editor of the North Carolina Economic Developer's Guide to the Renewable Energy Industries.
Benjamin Jones
Benjamin Jones receives his BS in Mathematics in 2017 from Appalachian State University. He has focused on statistical methods and on programming and developing packages for R.
Tammy Kowalczyk
Tammy Kowalczyk is a professor in the Department of Accounting in the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University. She specializes in financial and sustainability accounting and is the Sustainability Outreach Fellow for the university.
Eric Marland
Eric Marland is a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Appalachian State University. Following graduate work in theoretical biology at the University of Utah and postdoctoral work at the Institute for Theoretical Dynamics at the University of California at Davis, he has worked on issues related to carbon accounting and uncertainty for 14 years.
Gregg Marland
Gregg Marland has been a Research Professor in the Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics at Appalachian State University for 5 years. Prior to that he was a Distinguished Research and Development Staff Member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has been involved in carbon accounting and the analysis of forest carbon offsets for 40 years.
Tatyana Ruseva
Tatyana B. Ruseva (PhD Indiana University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government & Justice Studies at Appalachian State University. Her work is in the area of environmental policy and natural resource governance.
Celina Szymanski
Holding an MS in Political Science from Appalachian State University, Celina Szymanski has served as managing editor of PS: Political Science & Politics, one of the American Political Science Association's flagship journals, since 2015.
