China’s Pilot Transaction on Forestry Carbon Sequestration Officially Kicked Off

Approved by the State Forestry Administration (SFA), China’s pilot forestry carbon sequestration transaction officially kicked off on November 1st 2011 in Yiwu City of Zhejiang Province.

In recent years, the international community demonstrated unprecedented concerns and gave much thought about the forest carbon sink functions in carbon offset and carbon emission mitigation. The active advocate of the establishment and development of ecology service market with carbon sink as the primary product has become the essential component for forestry in addressing climate change, said by Dr. LI Nuyuan, the secretary-general of China Green Carbon Foundation and the executive deputy director-general of SFA’s office for addressing climate change.

She stressed that the climate issue is the global focus. Forest is the most economical carbon absorber which absorbs carbon dioxide and release oxygen and sinks carbon by the way of photosynthesis.  It is just because this unique function that the forest become the biggest territorial carbon stock. Based on the 7th National forest inventory, China has a forest area of 195 million ha with a carbon sequestration of 7.81 billion ton CO2-e which will be increased to 8.4 billion ton CO2-e at the end of the twelfth five-year plan. 

Dr.Li pointed out that the actualization of the forestry carbon transaction serves as a pillar in the innovation of forestry development mechanism and in the establishment of new mechanism of forestry ecological benefits marketization which break the forestry development bottle-neck barrier and promote the forestry resources optimization in addition to generate tangible income for forestry farmers.

At the kick-off ceremony, 10 enterprises subscribed the first batch of 148,000 tons of CO2-e of forest carbon.

The subscription of forest carbon can achieve carbon neutral and acquire emission mitigation cushioning period that fulfill green growth by more science and technology innovation. This has been an exploration and practice for China’s forest carbon sequestration transaction and the concrete reflection of forest ecology service value. More channels have been provided to the promotion of voluntary emission reduction for the industrial enterprises that accomplish the win-win between the increase of forest carbon sequestrations and the shoulder of social responsibilities by the enterprises, complimented by Dr. Li.

Mr. ZHAO Shucong, Vice Minister of SFA, addressed at kick-off ceremony who elaborated that the signing of “forest carbon sequestration transaction subscription” between the CGCF and the East China Forestry Exchange has pioneered China’s standardized operation of forestry carbon sequestration transaction. Forestry carbon sequestration transaction is a newborn thing which needs to explore a new approach that gears to the international practice and be in conformity with China’s practical circumstances. It needs to maintain strict standards in carbon sequestration production, accounting, monitoring, verification and registration which will let the invisible carbon sequestration to be incarnated by tangible forest.  The transaction of every ton of CO2-e will have a forest plot that stores and generates income for the forest farmers as well as the improvement of ecological environment.

Both the CGCF and the East China Forestry Exchange have expressed to exert their efforts in proactively exploring the standardized, safe and effective forest carbon sequestration transaction models in order to facilitate China’s standardized pilot platform for forestry carbon sequestration transaction.