Five takeaways from the NACW 2020 Virtual Series: Navigating the North American Carbon World

Five takeaways from the NACW 2020 Virtual Series: Navigating the North American Carbon World

The North American carbon world continues to be a diverse and changing landscape. Across Canada, the US and Mexico, there are varying levels of leadership and approaches to addressing climate change on all jurisdictional levels. Canada has its Output-Based Pricing System in place as a backstop for provincial inaction and forges ahead with other climate initiatives like the Clean Fuel Standard. Mexico’s Emissions Trading System has launched in its pilot phase and stands as North America’s only national ETS. In the US, states, counties and cities continue filling the void left by the federal government.

The Climate Action Reserve hosted a webinar as part of its NACW Virtual Series to engage in discussion about climate action, inaction and goals across the North American continent, featuring panelists: Dan McGraw, Head of Americas, Carbon Pulse; Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director, Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; Dirk Forrister, CEO and President, IETA; Eduardo Piquero, Director, MexiCO2; and Dave Sawyer, Chief Economist, CDN Institute for Climate Choices.

Here are five takeaways from the Navigating the North American Carbon World webinar.

1. The outlook for carbon markets post COVID-19 is tied to how quickly the economy can recover from the pandemic fallout and long-term behavioral shifts of the population, which remain uncertain.

“A large chunk of California’s program, right around 40 percent, is transportation emissions. And because of Governor Newsom’s order on March 20, you’ve seen a significant scaling down on the amount of gasoline demand from everyday California commuters. You don’t necessarily know where the supply demand metrics are going to be because you don’t know what the consumption figure is, so that’s created a lot of uncertainty in the market about where the program potentially is headed and what the program looks like afterwards – not necessarily the program itself but the difference in consumer behaviors – are more people working from home, are fewer people going to commercial spaces, are fewer people buying new more efficient vehicles, those are the questions that are being asked right now” said Dan McGraw.

“CORSIA is another international market that’s also being affected, probably in an even more dramatic way than any of the existing markets. 2020 is supposed to be one of the two baseline years that gets averaged and there are tough choices to be made about whether they stick with the game plan, which would mean everybody gets a much lower baseline and as that market recovers might have more to offset, or whether they consider this to be such an abnormal year that it shouldn’t be considered. It’s adding a dose of uncertainty to what the aviation market will look like in the future,” said Dirk Forrister. “It’s also going to be affected by the type of recovery we have and whether it’s a slow one that takes the aviation industry a few years to get out of or whether it’s something that bounces back more quickly.”

2. Flexible carbon programs and price stability measures help ensure resiliency during market shocks.

“With Output-Based Pricing in Canada, the systems inherently scale with production falls and price impacts. Because we have benchmarks keyed against production, as production falls, the compliance obligation also falls. These systems are inherently designed to deal with market fluctuations. Alberta’s system is really neat in that it has an actual standard ensconced to change the benchmark on the short-term basis to allow for hardship impacts to be tested and then for relief to occur. No other systems in Canada really have that sort of detailed task that says look if you’re really in trouble and your product prices fall, we’re going to take a look at the impact on revenue and compliance costs and then we’re going to provide some relief mechanisms so we can give you some short-term credits to cover your compliance obligations,” said Dave Sawyer.

“Carbon markets are like other markets that have to adjust in these kinds of situations. The demand is down and prices have adjusted, but they are continuing to work and continuing to produce a price for reasons we know well: the price floors in California and the role of the market stability reserve in Europe. For purposes of climate protection, it’s good to see that these programs are continuing to operate and continuing to deliver,” said Dirk Forrister.

3. We have an opportunity to rebuild our economy in alignment with climate and low-carbon goals.

“There are choices we can make that would propel us into a future that’s more low carbon, more climate resilient. We can make the kind of infrastructure investments that would have us transition away from fossil fuel dependency to cleaner energy. In the U.S., there is a huge fossil fuel lobby that’s pushing for bailouts. We have seen them conveniently tangle geopolitics around oil and gas prices and with the COVID crisis and ask for a special dispensation. There is a real danger that the politics are such that lawmakers give in to these kinds of pressures and lock us into a fossil fuel future instead of propelling us into this clean energy future. We are fighting for a vision that’s both about economic recovery and jobs, as well as about putting us on this pathway to our climate goals. This is a real fight and it’s a fight whose outcome is not yet guaranteed,” said Rachel Cleetus.

“I can imagine that one of the lessons of COVID and the sharp fall of oil and gas prices will be to rethink those investments, which are generally unpopular. A poll was published today saying that 66 percent of Mexicans were worried about the kind of investments the government was carrying out,” said Eduardo Piquero. “Once the pilot phase of the ETS ends, we expect to see more GHGs and some chemical gases covered. Today its only CO2. Mexico has a very large petrochemical industry that as of today is not fully covered, but we expect them to be after the end of the pilot phase. Of course, we expect to see more companies and more sectors covered – transport and local aviation could be a possibility. And, of course, to lower the threshold. Today the threshold is quite large at 100,000 and we expect that to lower. The big thing after that – the Mexican government has already mentioned several times during the previous administration and this one that a linkage to California and Quebec is desirable and it’s in the horizon.”

4. It’s important to have a suite of climate policies supplementing carbon pricing programs.

“Most states are recognizing that this is going to take a suite of policies. We are seeing
states recognize that to really deliver on their climate goals, they need a portfolio approach
and they’re combining carbon pricing with a renewable portfolio standard, low carbon fuel standards, and energy efficiency measures. And using the carbon revenue to further increase deployment of clean energy technologies. When you put these policies in place together, you get greater effectiveness. You’re able to bring down emissions while meeting other public health and consumer savings goals,” said Rachel Cleetus.

5. Carbon policy is economic policy – revenues spent revitalize the economy and support vulnerable communities.

“A carbon price is very powerful. It’s raising revenues that can be used to invest in low-carbon resilient investments,” said Rachel Cleetus. “In California, a percentage of the auction revenue, 25 if I remember correctly, is allocated towards EJ communities to use for investments that the communities themselves are choosing to invest in. When we see volatility and when we see revenues drop off that has a real direct harmful impact on these communities that were counting on these revenues to deliver local emission reductions and other amenities in their communities. These market fluctuations have real impacts for some people.”

“The Canadian federal government did signal that the carbon price increase this year on April 1st would go ahead and it did. For households it actually made sense because of the rebate program under the federal benchmark jurisdiction. The rebate makes seven to eight out of ten households better off, meaning they get back more carbon rebates than they pay in,” said Dave Sawyer. “Using revenues to support budgets builds resiliency into your carbon program because there’s a dependency on the revenue source. We saw this in British Columbia with the carbon tax. In 2013 there was a move within government to kill the program and basically the government said well we’re not going to raise personal or corporate income taxes by killing the carbon tax.”

To view the full webinar recording, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMvPWgax8X4


In 2019, the Reserve forged ahead in our work to advance climate solutions and help achieve emissions reductions at the urgency and scale needed. Check out our 2019 annual report for details!

In 2019, the Reserve forged ahead in our work to advance climate solutions and help achieve emissions reductions at the urgency and scale needed. Check out our 2019 annual report for details!


Join us Thurs 5/14 for our next NACW Virtual Series webinar – Supporting Local Action: the CA Climate Investments Program

Join us Thurs 5/14 for our next NACW Virtual Series webinar – Supporting Local Action: the CA Climate Investments Program


The recording of the NACW 2020 Virtual Series: Navigating the North American Carbon World webinar is now available!

The recording of the NACW 2020 Virtual Series: Navigating the North American Carbon World webinar is now available!


Do you have questions on the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol? Check out the Q&A from the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol Public Comment Webinar

Do you have questions on the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol? Check out the Q&A from the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol Public Comment Webinar


Please join us for the first-ever NACW Virtual Series on Thursday, May 7 – Navigating the North American Carbon World . In this webinar, speakers will engage in discussion about climate action, inaction and goals across the North American continent.

Please join us for the first-ever NACW Virtual Series on Thursday, May 7 – Navigating the North American Carbon World . In this webinar, speakers will engage in discussion about climate action, inaction and goals across the North American continent.


Thank you for helping us achieve over 150 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions!

Thank you for helping us achieve over 150 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions reductions!

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn parallels to how we will address the climate crisis, and many of us have forged ahead in our work to prevent the worse climate change scenarios from becoming reality. Over the past several months, as the global community’s attention has been diverted to the health and wellbeing of our friends and family, the livelihood of our local communities, and economic recoveries, we’ve looked for some glimmer of hope and good news. We’re very excited to share with our community a dose of good news – together, we’ve achieved the milestone of over 150 million offset credits issued from the Climate Action Reserve!

For me, this milestone is symbolic and significant on many levels. It represents 150 million tonnes of CO2e that would have been emitted into or remained in the atmosphere. What does that mean? It’s the equivalent to 372,208,436,725 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle or charging 19,129,833,321,353 smartphones. It’s a significant amount, although, we recognize it is only a start and we still have much more work to do.

It also represents the power of what we can accomplish together. The Reserve was founded on the concept of collaboration among different sectors and we continue to support and uphold that belief in all of our work. Achieving over 150 million tonnes of emissions reduction and sequestration required the work, support and ideas of nonprofit organizations, companies in the private sector, academia and government. These groups have been involved with elements of our work in both the voluntary and compliance markets.

And it represents a level of success in our work to address climate change as an environmental nonprofit organization. The Reserve’s mission is “To develop, promote, and support innovative, credible market-based climate change solutions that benefit economies, ecosystems, and society.” I’m extremely proud to work alongside dedicated, passionate colleagues here at the Reserve and with an engaged Board of Directors to strive towards that mission. In a few years, we’ll be approaching the 15-year anniversary of the Reserve program, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we all accomplish together when we reach that milestone.

A big thank you to the project developers that helped make this achievement possible. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to bring an offset project to fruition, and achieving this milestone couldn’t be possible without the support of:

1st Climate Solutions DBA Brian R. Anderson Inc.
3Degrees Group, Inc
ABEC Bidart-Old River LLC
Advanced Disposal Services Maple Hill Landfill, LLC
Advanced Disposal Services Morehead Landfill, Inc.
Ag Methane Advisors, LLC
Alberto Ramirez
Alcoa Gas Producers, LLC
Alma Land Company
ALT Holdings, LLC
ALVARO RENE RIVERA JARAMILLO
AMC Maine Woods Initiative LLC
American Municipal Power, Inc.
Angelina County
ASOCIACIÓN DE SILVICULTORES DE LA REGIÓN FORESTAL PACHUCA Y TULANCINGO, A.C.
Aurora Ridge Dairy, LLC
Barnabas Investment Group, LLC
Bascom Pacific, LLC
BFI Waste Systems of North America, LLC
BFI Waste Systems of Oklahoma, LLC
Bi-County Gas Producers, LLC
Big Run Power Producers, LLC
Bioforestal Innovación Sustentable S.C.
Black Warrior Solid Waste Disposal Authority
Blue Source, LLC
Buncombe County
Burns ODS, llc
Butler County, Kansas
CA Department of Parks and Recreation
California Bioenergy, LLC
California Timberlands 2 LLC
Camco Offsets I, LLC
Carbon Solutions Group, LLC
Central Sanitary Landfill, Inc.
CF Industries Nitrogen, LLC
Citrus County Division of Solid Waste Management
City of Arcata
City of Lawton
City of Superior
City of Thomasville, Georgia
City of Walla Walla
Climate Trust Capital Fund I LP
ClimeCo Corp MCK NAP2, LLC.
ClimeCo Corporation
coastal forest resources company
Coastal Forestlands, LTD., a California Limited Partnership
Coastal Ridges LLC
Coffee County Commission
Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible AC
COOLGAS, INC.
Corrigan TLP, LLC
Covanta Semass, L.P.
CP Energy Marketing (US) Inc
CSE Operating I, LLC
Cultivo Land PBC
David Dicktel
Downeast Lakes Land Trust
DTE Biomass Energy, Inc.
Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Duke University
East Dubuque Nitrogen Fertilizers, LLC
Ecofrigo
EKO Green Carbon Fund, LP
Element Markets Emissions, LLC
Element Markets, LLC
Energía Renovable de Cuautla S.A. de C.V.
Exelon Generation Company, LLC
Farm Power Northwest LLC
Fiscalini Properties, L.P.
Forest Carbon Partners, L.P.
Fred M Van Eck Forest Foundation for Purdue University
Gallo Cattle Company, a Limited Partnership
Garland Power & Light
Gaston County Solid Waste and Recycling
Green Assets Inc.
Grotegut Dairy Farm Inc
GTR Solid Waste Management Authority
Heartwood Forestland Fund IV Limited Partnership
Holsum Dairies, LLC
Hudson Technologies Company
Indigo Ag
INTEGRADORA DE COMUNIDADES INDIGENAS Y CAMPESINAS DE OAXACA AC
INTELIMETER, S.A. DE C.V.
Irony, LLC
Jackson Timberland Opportunities-Champion, LLC
Kent and Sorensen Overseas, SA de CV
Kent County Department of Public Works
Kimble Company
LSB Industries, Inc.
Luminus Energy Partners QP, LP
Lyme Brimstone Timberlands LLC
Lyme Great Lakes Timberlands LLC
Lyme Mountaineer Forest Holdings LLC
Lyme Mountaineer Timberlands II LLC
Lyme Skyline Forest Company LLC
Lyme Wisconsin Timberlands LLC
Maas Energy Works, Inc.
Mahoning Landfill, Inc.
Mailliard Ranch, a California Limited Partnership
Maple Leaf Dairy, Inc
Mattamuskeet Ventures I, LLC
Mendocino Redwood Company, LLC
Michael A. Noles
Middleton Place, LLC
Municipio de Toluca/Dirección General de Medio Ambiente del H. Ayuntamiento de Toluca
MWF Adirondacks, LLC
National Audubon Society, Inc.
NativeEnergy, a Public Benefit Corporation
New England Forestry Foundation
New River Resource Authority
Nisqually Land Trust
Norfolk Southern Railway Company
Northeast Wilderness Trust
Northwestern Landfill, Inc.
OEKO Service Luxembourg (O.S.L) S.A.
Offsetters Clean Technology Inc.
Oneida Herkimer Solid Waste Authority
OptimaBio, LLC
Outlaw Hog Energy, LLC
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council
Peak Carbon LLC
Peak Carbon Offset LLC
Perfect Score Too, LTD
Philip Verwey Farms
Pivot Bio, Inc
Pixley Biogas, LLC
PLANALTO S.P.R. DE R.L.
Potlatch Forest Holdings, Inc.
Public Service Company of Colorado dba Xcel Energy
Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority
Reclamation Technologies Inc.
Renewable Energy Services of Ohio, LLC
RenewWest
Republic Services of North Carolina, LLC
RES Agriculture NC1, LLC
Resource Management Service LLC
Rips Redwoods, LLC
Roeslein Alternative Energy of Missouri, LLC
Roseburg LFG Energy, LLC
Rowland Land Company
Save the Redwoods League
Scott Solid Waste Disposal Company
Secretaría del Medio Ambiente / Fondo Ambiental para el Cambio Climático
Sempervirens Fund
SERVICIO Y CONSULTORIA AMBIENTAL Y FORESTAL, S. DE .R.L. DE C.V.
Shannondale Carbon, LLC
Sieben Live Stock Co
Sierra Pacific Industries
Smith Gardner, Inc.
Solar & Renewables Management, LLC
Soluciones Ambientales Yaax
Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
South Pole USA, Inc.
Southern California Edison
Southern Plains Land Trust
Spatial Informatics Group, LLC
Spokane Tribe of Indians
Sustainable Energy Solutions LLC
Sustainable Mountain Center, LLC
Tangipahoa Parish Government
Terra Nitrogen, Limited Partnership
TerraStar Energy
The Climate Trust
The Conservation Fund
The Nature Conservancy
The Newhall Land and Farming Company, LLC
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Walt Disney Company
Three Rivers Solid Waste Management Authority
Timber Ridge Landfill Company
Timberline Energy, LLC
TimberLink LLC
TMF Biofuels, LLC
Trinity Carbon Management LLC
U-Haul International, Inc.
U.S. Venture, Inc.
Usal Redwood Forest Company, LLC
VAN-ERK DAIRY LLC
Vitol Inc.
W. Brinkley Melvin
Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District
Washington Beef, LLC
Waste Services of N. E. Mississippi, Inc.
Weaver Cattle Co.
WTE-Dairyland, LLC
WTE-Dallmann, LLC
WTE-Deer Run, LLC
WTE-Wakker, LLC
Yurok Tribe

Please check out our infographic for a closer look at the Reserve’s 150 million offset credits:
https://climateactionreserve.org/blog/2020/05/01/a-closer-look-at-the-reserves-150-million-offset-credits/


A closer look at the Reserve’s 150 million offset credits

A closer look at the Reserve’s 150 million offset credits

We hosted a public comment webinar for the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol. Check out the webinar recording and presentation slides.

We hosted a public comment webinar for the draft Soil Enrichment Protocol. Check out the webinar recording and presentation slides.


An Extraordinary Circumstances Request Form is now available for all project requests related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Projects seeking deadline extensions or variances for reasons directly related to the coronavirus must submit this request form to reserve@climateactionreserve.org prior to the original deadline.

An Extraordinary Circumstances Request Form is now available for all project requests related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Projects seeking deadline extensions or variances for reasons directly related to the coronavirus must submit this request form to reserve@climateactionreserve.org prior to the original deadline.