Transcript Document 7615424

Rhode Island
Greenhouse Gas
Stakeholder Process
Forestry & Land Use
Michael Lazarus, Tellus Institute
Gordon Smith, EcoFor
June 1, 2004
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Global Carbon Cycle
(billion metric tons carbon)
Projected Global GHG Emissions
(million metric tons carbon equivalent per year)
Early Reductions Needed to Avoid
“Dangerous Interference” with Climate
Global CO2 emissions
(billion tons of carbon)
12
D
E
C
10
B
Stabilization target:
450 ppm by 2100
8
A
6
4
2
0
2000
2020
2040
2060
2080
2100
A - Reductions begin 1990, gradual, at steepest a 2% annual decline by 2080
B - Reductions delayed until 2005, decline of 2%/year beginning not later than 2035
C - Reductions delayed until 2010, decline of 2.5%/year beginning not later than 2030
D - Reductions delayed until 2015, decline of 3.0%/year beginning not later than 2028
E - Reductions delayed until 2020, decline of nearly 5%/year beginning not later than 2025
Million Tonnes Carbon Equivalent
Rhode Island Target
GHG Plan
baseline (2001)
4.0
3.5
Revised baseline
3.0
2.5
Governors' &
Premiers target
(GHG Plan 2001)
2.0
1.5
Governors' &
Premiers' target
(revised)
1.0
1990
2000
2010
2020
Rhode Island
Emissions by Sector
4.5
Industrial Steam
Electric Generation
Solid Waste
Forestry & Land Use
Million Tonnes Carbon Equivalent
4
3.5
Transport
Residential
Industry
Commercial
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1990
-0.5
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
Phase III Forestry Effort
in Rhode Island
• Why forestry, why now?
• Analysis approach
– Identify activities with strong co-benefits for
communities, landowners, and GHG
emissions
– Evaluate the potential GHG emissions
removals/savings
Current RI Forest and Land Use
Baseline
Fraction
of RI land
Trees
(million)
Tree Cover
Carbon Stored
(metric tons)
Carbon
Sequestered
(tC/year)
Forests
59%
195
>97% full
12,700,000
53,000
to
76,000
Urban
Areas
23%
4.1
9%
760,000
18,000
Options to Reduce GHG Emissions
or Sequester Carbon
• Increase forest (biomass and carbon) stocks
– Forest management (urban and rural)
• Maintain or expand forest and natural cover
– Land use management and conservation
• Increase soil carbon
– Agricultural practices (low tillage)
• Reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions
– Manure and fertilizer management
• Reduce fossil fuel use
– Displace coal, oil, or gas with (renewable) biomass energy
– Shading and climate effects of urban trees
• Education, incentives, and/or regulation
Land Use Mitigation Strategies
Considered in Rhode Is. Analysis
Option
Design
Urban & Community
Forestry
Plant up to 20,000 trees/year, include yard trees, support via
energy & carbon benefits, enhance capacity & ordinances
Conservation Development
Support Conservation Development efforts and Growth Center
Executive Order
Current Use Tax & Bond
Increase tax enrollment and support open space bond
Riparian Restoration
Support enhanced acreage
Gravel Mine Restoration
Extend NRCS wildlife habitat program
Forest Management
Increase extension, lengthen rotations, favor white pine
No-till Cropping
Farm Fertilizer Management
Lawn Fertilizer Management
Urban Forestry: Selected RI
Initiatives
• RI DEM
– Urban and community forest plan: Maintain 55% land area as
forest through the year 2020, increase canopy cover 5-8% in 24
communities
– Tree City USA
• Providence
– Building permits require 25% canopy coverage for residential
15% for commercial/industrial
– Planting goal: 40,000 new trees in 4 years to meet 25% canopy
target
• Newport
– Bareroot program will plant on private property ($55/tree)
• Warwick
– Zoning laws require 5% tree cover for parking lots and 10% for
commercial sites overall, strict review/approval process
Urhan Forestry Analysis
• 200,000 new trees by 2015
• Calculated energy bill benefits
• Significant costs, significant benefits
Table 1. Summary results for urban forestry effort (200,000 trees in 10 years)
2005-2014 avg.
23,000
$1,725,000
582
$145,420
Years
2020
2050
Trees Planted Annually
Annual costs
Annual Carbon removal/savings (tC)
2,910
5,291
Annual energy bill savings
$727,100
$1,322,000
Cumulative Carbon removal/savings (tC)
16,402
189,679
Cost-effectiveness ($/tC)
$762
$38
Assumes 15% early mortality for trees planted, 75 kWh/tree in reduced cooling load, 0.1MBtu/tree in reduced heating
loads and 13 kgC net sequestration for mature trees, and 20 years from planting to reach mature tree benefits.
Urban Forestry Recommendations
• Consider statewide program
– to enhance capacity at the municipal level and ability
– to achieve a goal of 200,000 trees planted in 10 years
• Focus on yard trees and lots to maximize energy
and carbon benefits
– location and species selection are essential
• Seek quantification and funding based on
energy savings
• Promote stronger ordinances and state enabling
legislation
Sacramento example
Free shade trees
If your home has an eastern, western or
southern exposure that heats up during the
summer, you may be eligible to receive free
trees from SMUD.
Since 1990, SMUD, in collaboration with the
Sacramento Tree Foundation, has planted
more than 312,000 SMUD trees in the
Sacramento area.
Together we continue to provide expert
advice on tree selection and planting
techniques, and healthy trees from 4 to 7
feet tall, along with stakes, ties, fertilizer and
tree delivery at no cost to you. All you do is
promise to plant and pledge to care for the
trees.
Benefits of shade trees

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Simple steps to your free
SMUD shade tree:
1) Watch the "Planting Your
Shade Tree" video linked on
this page and be sure to note
the code at the end. (If you
need a VHS copy, call
1.888.742.7683 to request
one. It will be sent to you at
no charge.)

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
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Rebates, financing
and promotions
Online energy audit
Conservation tips
Peak Corps
Shade trees
Advantage Homes
Compact fluorescent
bulbs
Pools & spas
2) After you've seen the
video, call SMUD at
916.732.6750 or sign up
online. If you get voicemail,
please slowly and clearly
leave your name, address
and daytime telephone
number. We'll call you back!
Trees cool your home naturally
Trees properly selected, planted and cared for can begin to reduce your home
cooling costs within a few years
Fully grown, properly placed trees can cut your home cooling costs by up to
40 percent
Trees add beauty and grace to your neighborhood
Trees add value to your property
Tree roots help clean rainwater and add stability to the soil
Trees also provide a habitat for birds, squirrels and insects
(and children)
See the videos
PLANTING YOUR SHADE TREE Choose your connection speed:
56k | DSL/Broadband
CARING FOR YOUR SMUD TREE

Shade thine home
and win a feast -or a lease!
Sign up for a free shade
tree by Sept. 7th and
thou shall have a chance
to win a feast with the
Monarchs or a two-year
lease of a coach known as
a Honda Civic Hybrid. Art
thou interested? More ...
WNBA and WNBA team trademarks,
logos, identifications, statistics and
game-action photographs, video
Conservation Development
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1476 acres cleared each year
1404 acres forest cleared each year
1376 acres to residential each year
Develop on smaller footprint
Conserve remaining land
Assume 20% avoided clearing
Expand assistance to towns & planners
Current Use Tax & Bond
• GHG benefit is carbon above that on nonprotected lands
• 50% of eligible landowners not enrolled in
Forest, Farm, and Open Space current
use taxation program
• Increase assistance for management
• Pass new open space bond
Riparian Restoration
•
•
•
•
High value for water quality & aesthetics
Narrow strips, small areas
Substantial federal matching funds
Expand existing program
Gravel Mine Restoration
•
•
•
•
Need for meadow/early seral habitat
75% federal matching funding
Expand existing program
Limiting factor may be landowner
willingness
Enhance Forest Management
• Enhance assistance to landowners
– Management plan development
– Management plan implementation
• Lengthen rotations/increase use of uneven
age management
• Favor White Pine
Costs and Savings Estimates
Option
Annual
Savings
2020
(MTon C)
Cumulative
Savings
2020
(MTon C)
Cumulative
Savings
2050
(MTon C)
Cost/ton
through
2020
Cost/ton
through
2050
Urban
Forestry
3,000
16,000
190,000
$760
$38
Conservation
Development
16,000
260,000
Current Use
Tax & Bond
7,000
110,000
304,000
$870
$340
Riparian
Restoration
600
7,000
16,000
$570
$240
Gravel Mine
Restoration
1,000
9,000
18,000
$210
$100
Forest
Management
23,000
150,000
1,400,000
(thru 2070)
$120
$13
ALL
50,000
>550,000
>2,000,000
$4
Lower Potential Options
Option
Annual
Savings
2020
(MTon C)
Cumulative
Savings
2020
(MTon C)
Cost/ton
through 2020
No-till
Cropping
negligible
6,000
Not calculated
Farm
Fertilizer
Management
<1,000
Not calculated
Not calculated
Lawn
Fertilizer
Management
<1,000
Not calculated
Not calculated
Meeting the RI GHG Target
Reductions Needed
Reductions Currently Expected**
GHG Emissions in
2020 (MtC)
3,990,000
- 2,640,000
1,350,000
~1,000,000
Remaining Reductions Needed
~350,000
Land Use and Forestry Potential
~50,000
Baseline Emissions*
Target Emissions*
*Using revised forestry/land use figures
**From policies implemented or under development – rough preliminary estimates
Next Steps
• Prioritize and refine strategies
• Identify resources and staffing needed
• Develop implementation and funding
strategies
• Implement!
End
Large,
Large,
Large,
Large,
Large,
Large,
deciduous - deciduous - deciduous - evergreen - evergreen - evergreen Small,
Small,
North,
West,
South,
North,
West,
South,
deciduous - deciduous adjacent
adjacent
adjacent
adjacent
adjacent
adjacent
West, far
South, far
120
80
40
kgC/mature tree
Urban Tree
Location
and Climate
Benefit
0
-40
-80
Shade cooling - lowers electricity use. Trees sited to the W of a house provide the greatest benefit, by
-120
shading during the warmest hours of summer days.
Climate cooling - decrease in ambient temperature across communities, due to shading and
evapotranspiration effects (urban heat island). It is a function of tree size and type.
Shade heating - increases heating fuel use in winter, spring, and fall. It is significant for trees sites to the
south, esp. for evergreens.
Climate heating - is the general windbreak effect affecting other homes across a community.
Windbreak - reduces heating fuel use needed to heat in cooler months; typically maximized by trees that
shield northern winds.
CO2 uptake - is the gross carbon sequestered by a tree.
CO2 release - results from dead and decaying tree matter.
NET - is the sum of all of the preceding seven effects.
Effect of Management on C Stock
Rhode Island Forest Carbon
Afforestation without Cutting
50
40
Wood Products
Debris
Live Trees
30
20
10
Stand Age
10
0
11
0
12
0
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
Metric tons Carbon per Acre
60
Effect of Management on C Stock
Rhode Island Forest Carbon
Constant Rotation Length
Metric tons Carbon per Acre
60
50
40
Wood Products
Debris
Live Trees
30
20
10
0
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
Stand Age
Effect of Management on C Stock
Rhode Island Forest Carbon
Reducing Rotation Length
Metric tons Carbon per Acre
60
50
40
Wood products
Debris
Live tree
30
20
10
0
65
0
10 20 30 40 50 10 20 30 40 50
Stand Age