Section 21 of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (SB 5126 (2021)) Requested Policy Recommendations on Carbon Market Approaches and Carbon Incentive Programs that will work for Small Forest Landowners (SFLO).
This workgroup established under section 21 of SB 5126 requires DNR to contract with a small forest landowner (SFLO) organization that would be responsible for identifying possible carbon market opportunities including offset credits and other incentive-based greenhouse gas reduction programs, including compliance markets operated by other jurisdictions, voluntary markets, and federal, state, and private programs for forestlands that can be leveraged to achieve carbon reductions. Specifically the law requested a legislative report on the following:
Identify how to establish an aggregator account that will pursue carbon offset projects for small forestland owners in Washington state including...
a) Recommendations based on programs established in other jurisdictions
b) A framework and funding proposals for establishing a program to link interested small forest landowners with incentive-based carbon reducing programs that facilitate adoption of forest practices that increase carbon storage and sequestration in forests
c) Identifying areas of coordination and layering among
a) state
b) federal
c) private landowner incentive programs
d) Identify roadblocks to better scalability
e) Reduce transaction costs and barriers by
a) Assisting landowners with access to feasibility analyses
b) Market applications
c) Stand inventories
d) Pilot project support and other services to reduce the transaction costs and barriers to entry to carbon markets or carbon incentive programs
f) Sharing information with private and other landowners about best practices employed to increase carbon storage and access to incentive programs
g) Recommendations on policies to support the implementation of incentives for participation in carbon markets.
The following charts help to explain our approach:
