Transcript:
To reduce their climate impact, many companies buy what are known as forest carbon credits.
They’re a way to offset a company’s own carbon emissions by paying to plant or protect trees, which absorb and store carbon as they grow.
The organizations that certify these credits have protocols they use to estimate a project’s impact.
Sanders-Demott: “One credit … should represent one ton of additional carbon dioxide that is stored in a forest.”
But Rebecca Sanders-Demott of the Clean Air Task Force says many projects fail to live up to that promise because of flaws in the protocols.
In a recent analysis, her team found, for example, that many certification programs underestimate the risk of wildfire or disease, which can kill trees.
Or they don’t adequately account for the possibility that protecting trees in one area could increase logging in another.
Sanders-Demott: “But the good news is we do think the system is fixable.”
She says incorporating new scientific tools and data can help researchers better predict the risks trees face in a particular region, and improve project monitoring over time.
Sanders-Demott: “We can make sure that these credits actually protect and enhance forest carbon storage … but only if the system is strong and rooted in science.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media