Carbon Offsets

[kato]

The MCPA has done some homework, and come out with a caution for Manitoba cattle producers who file environmental farm plans and apply for funding under the Growing Forward program. The province intends to keep the carbon credits that apply to the portion of the project funded by the government.

http://www.carbonoffsetsdaily.com/news-channels/canada-news-channels/man-clarifies-ownership-of-farm-carbon-offsets-15680.htm

This pretty much explains it. My concern is that we must trust that the end date is true. What's to stop them from extending the ending dates of these projects? They don't say anything about that.

I would want a firm ending date on anything I signed up for, that's for sure. If it was just very short term, that wouldn't be a big deal, since credits are not being traded in this province yet. But if it turned into a long term thing, that's another story.

[per]

The Government is perfectly capable of messing up anything that is good and they have the ability to change the rules mid stream. On the subject of Carbon it seems no one wants to consider the fact that even though carbon in the atmosphere has increased, we have had several years in a row of global cooling. In Alberta after all the trading brokers have had their way the carbon trade is worth 67 cents/acre on my farm. Hardly worth selling all your growing intentions and information for.

[Kathy]

The government wouldn't be retaining ownership of these carbon credits, unless it expects them to go up significantly in value, and/or be of a strong benefit to them.

Also, for those that didn't catch this in the other thread, google, Australian farmer Peter Spencer and how he is protesting how the AU government has passed legislation (2005) prohibiting further clearing of land by the landowner,without compensation to the landowner, so the AU government can take the carbon credits of 109 million hectares of land, to offset their carbon emissions by 22%:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0DpWYYbrY&feature=related

Here's the article kato provided:

Man. clarifies ownership of farm carbon offsets.
- Sourced From Albertafarmexpress.ca

The Manitoba government’s plans to retain ownership of carbon credits from on-farm projects it funds under new programs will be limited to the same scope as its funding contributions.

That’s according to the province’s general farm group, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), which asked for clarification after it was noted that the terms of the province’s new programs grant it carbon credits based on the offsets created.

The province on Sept. 3 made application forms available for the Environmental Farm Action Program (EFAP) and Manitoba Sustainable Agriculture Practices Program (MSAPP), both part of its non-business risk management suite of programs under the federal/provincial Growing Forward ag policy framework.

The two programs provide support for on-farm implementation of best management practices (BMPs) that reduce environmental risks, improve environmental management on farmland and help reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

The application form requires an eligible farmer to agree that the carbon offsets, if any, created through the two programs’ incentives will be owned by the province in proportion to its project contributions.

“We interpret this to mean if they fund 70 per cent of a project, they own 70 per cent of the credits for the duration of the Growing Forward agreement — which is four years,” KAP president Ian Wishart said in a release this week.

During meetings with the province, KAP said, it lobbied for higher percentage funding amounts for farmers’ BMPs and considered that since the province was paying for a portion of the project, it could own the percentage amount of the carbon credit for the term of the program.

“Since there is currently limited value for credits and very limited market opportunities for trading, the higher percentage helps producers and the limited ownership of the credits helps the province,” KAP said.

“This provides the producer an opportunity for the first time to get real value for the carbon offsets they create. The dramatically higher percentage of funding in this round of BMPs and all of the extra funding under MSAPP is directly connected with the province’s desire to collect some of the agricultural offsets to meet their commitment to be ‘greener’ in government practices.”

Offset values

“By the time the Growing Forward agreement ends we hope a national offset system will be created,” said Wishart, who farms at Portage la Prairie and was one of the early proponents of Alternate Land Use Services (ALUS).

“At the very least, with a recovering economy, value will have come back to international offset markets,” he said this week.

In one of the province’s examples, MSAPP would pay 75 per cent of the project costs to convert sensitive lands from annual crop rotation to perennial forages, including the costs of establishment and restoration.

“Therefore, the province will retire the proportion of carbon credits associated with the provincial contribution to the project (75 per cent up to $15,000). The ownership period is the same as the project duration — up to the end of 2012. After this period, the producer will be free to make use of the offsets.”

In another example, MSAPP would pay 90 per cent of the costs of a cover system for a liquid manure storage site, up to $100,000. The province, in that case, would retire a 90 per cent proportion of the carbon credits available, and retain ownership of the carbon offsets for 10 years, after which the farmer would be free to use them.

For a third example, if EFAP puts up 50 per cent of the cost of a manure treatment project up to $150,000, the province would retire a 50 per cent proportion of the carbon credits and own the offsets for the duration of the project — which, in EFAP’s case, would be March 31, 2013.

“With the exception of lagoon covers, the percentage of funding provided will be the percentage of ownership by the province to the end of the program,” Wishart said.

“For MSAPP that is until the end of 2012; however, under (EFAP) it is to March 31, 2013, which is the end date for that program.”
end

[Kathy]

I was sent this article on trading carbon credits and how the Big Corporations like Epcor are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to "off-set" their emissions. A retroactive clause in some of these contracts allows for payments on a per tonne basis to go back to 2002, if certain farming practices were used since then. Greg Appleyard of Strathmore was a recipient of a very big check.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Carbon Credit Series Part/2115124/story.html

It is a very long article, with lots of detail.

[greybeard]

If cap and trade is implemented world wide, the number I have seen that the USA will be required to purchase from offshore {poor country's that are not require to reduce} is 1.4 billion dollars per year. According to Sean Penn they have spent 600 billion on the war in Irac, just to put that number in perspective.
Canada has about 10% of the population,but we are considered more intensive carbon consumers due to our climate and large distances.
This money will be gone from our economy, with only a piece of paper stating what it purchased in return.
Canada can still meet it's kyoto commitments buy purchasing carbon credits such as what is referred to as "Russian hot air". They are available because so many of the former soviet "dirty" industries shut down because the weren't economic.
Currently China is building ten large gas fired power plants with money from European cap and trade. They qualify for the funds because otherwise they would use coal.