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Agricultural Protocols within the Alberta Offset System. Tom Goddard, Agriculture & Rural Development. June 17, 2010, Washington DC. 2006. 2020. Alberta Overview. Energy: 86% of emissions in Alberta Most electricity generated from coal Oil and natural gas - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Agricultural Protocols within the Alberta Offset System
Tom Goddard, Agriculture & Rural Development
June 17, 2010, Washington DC
Alberta Overview
Energy: 86% of emissions in Alberta• Most electricity generated from coal• Oil and natural gas• Oilsands represent 13% of total global
reserves, less than 10 % of global emissions, 18% of Allberta’s emissions
Agriculture: 8% of emissions in Alberta• Rainfall 300 to 450 mm (12 to 18 in) • Average temperatures of – 24 0C
in Jan to 24 0C in July (-11 to 75 0F) • 53 M ac farmland• 1/3 of Canada’s agricultural land• Small grains, oil seed, pulses• 40% of Canada’s beef, $ 1.8 M exported in ‘08• Irrigation - potatoes, sugar beets, sp crops
2006
2020
Alberta’s GHG emissions in the Canadian context
Carbon Market Context: Canada and AB
1997 – National Table GHG Reduction – Agricultural Sinks 1990’s – National collaboration GHG research 2002 / 3 – Alberta initiated Climate Change Action Plan
– Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER)– Applies to all facilities producing over 100,000 t CO2e per year – Required to report average emission intensities– Pork Protocol
2007 – Alberta amended SGER legislation to require mandatory emission intensity reductions of 12% per year - Applies to 103 facilities3 options:
i. Reduce emissions, trade performance creditsii. Pay Climate Change Emissions
Management Corporation at $15 / T CO2e i. Purchase offsets
Oil Sands18%
Power Plants48%
Forest Products
0.5%
Other12%
Gas Plants8%
Heavy Oil7%
Chemicals7%
Profile of AB companies emitting more than 100,000 T CO2e / yr
Alberta Approach
• Long term issue – Need to start with practical, achievable objectives
• Policy certainty for industry– Large investments being made now – expensive to retrofit,
investment is for 40 years+• Implementation of new technology will be a big part of the
long-term solution.– Linked to our unique role as North America’s energy supplier
• Market instruments - bridge gap between current emissions and long-term solutions.
• All Albertans must be part of the solution• Requires strategic and focused investment in transformational
changes (technology, behavioral)• Remain globally competitive
Alberta Government Approved Protocols
– Offset must be quantifiable, real, verifiable– ISO 14064-2 compliant– Science-based– Rigorous technical review – Internationally compatible – Streamlined use– Transparent and consistent – Verifiable by independent 3rd party– Reduced costs and administration– Provides certainty for investors – GHG tonnes reduced– Of 28 protocols currently approved, 10 are agricultural
Alberta Protocol Development ProcessCheck Carbon Offset Solutions website for
draft protocols, protocols under development
Develop & compile Technical Seed Document(s) (TSD) for protocol foundation
Prepare Technical Protocol Plan (TPP)
Submit TPP & TSDs to Alberta Government for review
Provide feedback to protocol developers – 60 days*
Adapt into Alberta protocol format (Standardization)
1st round of reviews – expert technical reviewNo sustained objections, then move forward.
2nd round of reviews – broader stakeholder reviewNo sustained objection, then move forward
3rd round of reviews – posting for public review30 days
Finalization of protocol & review of public comments by Alberta Environment**
Government approval & posting of protocol
2-10mo
4-6mo
10-30days
1-2mo
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Protocol Developer
Alberta Government
Protocol Developer
Coordination by Climate Change Central (C3)
“All parties involved”
Alberta Government
Agricultural Protocol Topics and Stages
Approved: Reduced Tillage Pork Beef - Days on Feed Beef – Lifecycle Beef - Edible Oils Energy Efficiency Afforestation Biomass Biogas Dairy
National in scope
In Review: • Summerfallow• Beef - Residual Feed Intake • Nitrous Oxide Emission
Reduction
Developing: • Conversion to Perennials• Pasture Management• Wetlands Restoration and
Preservation • Covered Manure Storage
Reduced Tillage Protocol
• Applies to annual crops
• Equipment definition
• - Geometry – opener width / spacing
• Dry Prairie versus Parkland boundary
• Soil C sequestration coefficient, N20 and energy coefficients drawn from research compiled for Canada’s GHG Inventory Methodologies (Tier II)
• Discounted baseline adjustment allocates incremental rates of new carbon sequestered to early adopters
• Soil C sequestration coefficient also discounted for:
– Risk of reversals using probability of reversal (10 – 12%)
– Assurance based on tonnes registered, now 0.4 Mt CO2e
• Revised every 5 years as new research informs
Zones of soil carbon change coefficients
Experiences Implementing Reduced Tillage Protocol
Successes • Relatively easy to apply, large interest and uptake
• 3.2 M T CO2e registered since July 1, 2007
• 41% of all offsets used for compliance in 2009
• 15% of total GHG reductions required by SGER
• Range from $ 8 – $ 12 / T CO2e in ’09 to $10 - $14 in ‘10
Challenges• Guidance – practical use of protocol, e.g. crop yr vs calendar yr
• Ownership – must be specified in contracts
• Verification – types of farm records vs digital data
Opportunities• Supports continuous improvement, accelerated practice change
• Knowledge is transferrable to other environmental attributes that need verification data, e.g. certification, footprinting