Citola Blog
State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009
A study, State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out, indicates today that the market for carbon offsets generated through forestry conservation mechanisms has "matured substantially" over the past three years and shows strong growth leading into a post-Kyoto Protocol framework.
State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out is being released today supported by the World Bank, BioCarbon Fund and other international groups, associations and foundations including Ecosystem Restoration Associates, Baker McKenzie and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The study surveyed more than 100 market participants accounting for 230 projects across 40 countries.
The study indicates that carbon finance has resulted in the capture of nearly 70 million tonnes of carbon (MtCO2) in trees with more than two million hectares of forests being protected or conserved over the past 20 years.
From 2007 through the first half of 2009, the forestry carbon market for forest conservation was over US $100 million with a volume of 20.8 MtCO2 despite the global recession and a corresponding downward revision of economic growth. The study, State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out, found that within the forestry carbon market the prices rose from US $7.12 to US $8.44 per tCO2 and in compliance markets increased from US $10.24 to US $12.31 per tCO2 between June 2008 to June 2009.
The value of the forestry carbon market and the price of forestry carbon offsets is expected to increase dramatically with support of the Copenhagen Accord, the proposed Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) actively supporting forestry in a compliance market and the USA requiring 1.5 billion offsets from international sources. Moreover, the growth will be aided with the addition and consideration of other forestry mechanisms to produce carbon offsets such as reforestation, REDD and sustainable forestry.
The transition of carbon forestry from a voluntary mechanism into a compliance framework will be an important component of global climate policy moving forward.
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