1. A Forest Industry Perspective on Carbon Accounting
Eric D. Vance
National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)

2. The Forest Products Industry is Unique with Respect to Climate Change
Fiber supply
Elevated CO2 fertilization
Climate change and variability
Wildfire
Carbon
Forest and product sequestration
Manufacturing emissions
Biofuels and co-generation

3. Industry Climate Change Incentives
Potential for carbon credits
Anticipating and complying with new forest and energy policies
Broader and longer-term interests
Not well defined
National and global competitiveness

4. The Forest-Based Industry Value Chain
NCASI report to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Miner and Lucier)
Integrated perspective
Insights not possible from corporate and national perspectives
Value chain perspective: holistic rather than impact-focused

5. Climate Change Elements Across the Value Chain
Carbon sequestration in forests, products
Biomass as a fossil fuel substitute
Manufacturing GHG emissions
Combined heat and power (co-generation)
GHG emissions (electricity consumption, transportation, recycling)
Product substitution

6. Forests are Managed for Multiple Objectives
Fiber, water, wildlife, soil
Incentives for carbon?
Maximizing C benefits not always consistent with higher priorities
Optimize benefits
Within constraints of other objectives
Across landscapes and ownerships

7. Industry Perspective on Forest Carbon Sequestration
Costs could exceed worth
Build upon current inventory systems
Efficiency
Science-based default values
Focus where significant change likely
How much accuracy and precision can we afford?

8. Industry Perspective on Forest Carbon Sequestration
Risk of focusing on standing forest carbon
Ineffective
Finite sequestration potential
Shorter-term benefits compared to off-site factors
Potentially counterproductive
Shifts demand to non-wood substitutes

9. Intensively Managed Forests
May reduce on-site storage
Higher sequestration rates
Coarse roots
Reduced wildfire risk
Greatest long-term sequestration potential with bioenergy and products

10. Carbon in Harvested Wood Products
Small fraction (5%) of forest C stock (USEPA, 2003)
Substantial and growing C sink (IPCC 2003; Winjum 1998)
30% of net sequestration from U.S. forests (up to 0.14 Gt yr -1)
Similar to manufacturing emissions
Relatively long residence times
Decades to centuries for products in construction, landfills

11. Product Substitution 2004 CORRIM Report
Consortium for Research on Renewable Materials
Formed in 1994 by 15 research institutions
Global Warming Potential of wood-frame home
26% lower than steel-frame
31% lower than concrete-frame

12. Bioenergy No new carbon to atmosphere
Supplies > 50% of industry energy needs
Competition for wood fiber
Forest residues
Co-generation
Access to electric power grid
Competes with policies favoring agricultural products and oil

13. Calculation Tools for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Pulp and Paper Mills (
Developed by NCASI for the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations
Consistent with IPCC/WRI/WBC protocols
CO2, CH3, N2O emissions
Fossil fuel and biomass combustion, mill processes, landfills, wastewater treatment
Indirect emissions from imports and exports of electricity or steam

14. Northern Institute of Applied Carbon Science (NIACS)
USFS NC and NE Research Stations
The Forest Carbon Consortium/NCASI
Michigan Technological University
Research
Increase C sequestration in northern forests
Improve accuracy of C measurements and accounting
Facilitate information and technology transfer among scientists, policy makers, and stakeholders

15. Michael P. Spinney and Paul C. Van Deusen, NCASI
Linda S. Heath and James E. Smith, USDA Forest Service

16. COLE: Carbon On Line Estimator
Web-based interface to analyze forest carbon inventory data
Flexible: Modular components can be independently modified (Java/HTML interface)
Outputs: tables, charts, maps, pdf reports
In it's 3rd year of development
Flexibility is it's greatest strength – relatively large changes in any one component (such as a new analysis or an alternative data set) can be readily (does not imply easily!!) accommodated.

17. Summary: Forest Industry Perspective
It’s in the long-term interest of the industry to be engaged in the carbon issue
Need to balance multiple forest values
Substantial off-site sequestration potential from increasing forest productivity
Accounting must be transparent, credible
An overly complex system will not succeed