U.S.-FocUSed Biochar report - BioEnergy Lists

Quantification of reductions for biochar-based land management practices will require new biocharspecificcalculation methodologies, that could be incorporated into existing land management offsetprotocols. Such a strategy would significantly reduce barriers to the acceptance of a new methodology, andreduce the number of procedural hurdles that would need clearing in each carbon offset market. In addition tothe sequestration of carbon in soil through biochar applications, a methodology should also account for displacementof nitrogen fertilizers, which release N 2 O, a potent GHG, under a business-as-usual scenario. More complexmethodologies might attempt to include emissions savings from fuel-switching and process efficiencies in thebiochar production process, though this would be challenging to track where the biochar is purchased ratherthan produced on-site by the farmer or forester. Reduced off gassing from soils; reduced dead zones in oceandeltas; increased biomass production as a result of biochar additions; and other GHG benefits from biochar areall possible but must be quantified to an acceptable level.Use of biochar in agricultural soils likely provides carbon sequestration with permanence featuressuperior to other kinds of land management offsets. Most land use offsets are at risk of impermanencebecause a change in land management practices may inadvertently release the stored carbon represented bythe offset, through tilling, for example. Because biochar traps carbon chemically, changes in land managementpractices are unlikely to affect the sequestration properties of the char. The biochar community should placeconsiderable resources into educating offset granting authorities about this aspect of biochar, and proving resistanceof biochar/soil mixtures to fire and other natural hazards that might result in a release of stored carbon.Where offset verification and certification authorities utilize credit discounting, expiration dates, carboncredit pooling requirements, or required contribution to a shared liability fund, biochar advocatesmight take measures to reduce or eliminate the application of such schemes to biochar-based soilcarbon offset projects.Biochar Greenhouse Gas Markets Works CitedInline as: (Brokers Carbon 2008)Brokers Carbon. Carbon Credits, Carbon Offsets, Carbon Trading| Brokers Carbon, Commercial Carbon CreditsBroker, http://www.brokerscarbon.com, 2008.Inline as: (CARB 2010)California Air Resources Board. California’s Climate Plan. http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/facts/scoping_plan_fs.pdf,2010.Inline as: (CBO 2009)Congressional Budget Office. The Use of Offsets to Reduce Greenhouse Gasses. Available online (accessed April2010): http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10497/08-03-Offsets.pdf . Congressional Budget Office: August 3,2009.Inline as: (Doyle & Wynn 2010)Alister Doyle and Gerard Wynn. “Copenhagen Accord climate pledges too weak: U.N.” Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62U13M20100331, Mar. 31, 2010.Inline as: (Gaunt & Cowie 2009)Gaunt, John and Annette Cowie. “Biochar, Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Emissions Trading.” in Biochar forEnvironmental Management, Science & Technology. Earthscan 2009.Inline as: (Gold Standard 2009)The Gold Standard Foundation. The Gold Standard: Premium Quality Carbon Credits. http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org,2009.Inline as: (Haugen-Kozyra 2007)76U.S.-Focused Biochar Report:Assessment of Biochar’s Benefits for the United States of America