Natural Climate Solutions in Massachusetts State-Level Forest Carbon - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Natural Climate Solutions in Massachusetts

State-Level Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate Forest-Climate Working Group Learning Exchange Series Steve Long, Director of Government Relations, MA TNC

CLIMATE CHANGE -- KEY STRATEGIES REDUCE EMISSIONS REMOVE POLLUTION

STRENGTHEN RESILIENCE

Massachusetts Forests and Carbon

Forest cover: ~60% Storage

• 365 million metric tons of natural

carbon.

• 67% of total terrestrial carbon storage

in Massachusetts is in forests

Sequestration

• Approx. 17% of all carbon generated

in MA is absorbed by MA forests

Massachusetts Forests: Ownership

Total Forests: 3M acres (~5% No-Cut Reserve) Public:

• Federal: No National Forests (smaller USACE

and USFWS)

• State: Recreation, Water Supply, Wildlife,

Reserves, Timbering

• Local: Parks and Forests

Private: 80%

• Family Forests
• Land Trusts

USDA Forest Service, 2018

MA Forest Trends

Sustained decline over 30 years Conversion:

• 1980s and 1990s: 15,000 acres/yr
• 1999 and 2005: 7,300 acres/yr
• 2005 and recent: 4,800 acres/yr
• More recent:

7,000 acres/yr

Harvard Forest predicts a ~ 20% loss of carbon storage over the next 50 years if we continue current trends of forest land conversion and management

Wildlands and Woodlands, 2004

MA: Global Warming Solutions Act (2008)

Reduce Greenhouse Gases by:

• 25% from 1990 Levels by 2020
• 80% from 1990 Levels by 2050

All Sectors: Economy-Wide

• Electricity
• Buildings
• Transportation
• Other (refrigerants, etc.)

Advisory Committee (Land Use Working Group)

Counting Natural Carbon (2009 – Present):

Counted: Biogenic Emissions: Activities that release natural carbon increase in the air (timber harvest, land conversion, biomass energy, etc.) Not counted: Biosequestration: Carbon naturally removed from the air

○ Concerns regarding measurement: baseline, emissions goals and additionality

Goal: Count biosequestration and weave into state policy and funding

○ Considerations: Additionality; Time/Permanence; Leakage; Geography: in/out of

state

○ Cautions: Offsets, Equity, Public Health

Current Policies (2009 – present)

• Smart Growth Program

○ Promote Voluntary Adoption of Municipal By-Laws ■ Natural Resource Protection Zoning ■ Tree Retention and Planting (No Net Loss)

• MA Environmental Policy Act

○ >50 Acres: No Net Loss

• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

○ Offsets: Afforestation

MA: Urban Tree Planting (2015 – present)

Law: Bond Authorization

• $25M (2014)
• Justification: Energy Savings for Residential

Property Owners Program:

• Urban Tree Planting
• Workforce Development
• Outcome: 23,000 Trees Planted

Executive Order 569: Nature and Climate (2016)

Natural climate solutions = using nature to solve the problem of too much carbon in the atmosphere Nature-based solutions = using nature to solve a problem

A B

MA: Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) 10-Year Progress Report (2018)

Look for opportunities to deploy strategies that achieve adaptation and mitigation goals, such as sustainable forestry practices and urban tree planting; and Explore additional land use strategies and policies and nature-based solutions to increase carbon sequestration and avoid GHG emissions from natural and working lands.

Definitions: Just guidance NOT perfection

2018 Law Definition: “Nature-based solutions”, strategies that conserve, create, restore and employ natural resources to enhance climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation to mimic natural processes or work in tandem with man- made engineering approaches to address natural hazards like flooding, erosion, drought and heat islands and to maintain healthy natural cycles to sequester and maintain carbon and other greenhouse gases. 2019 Legislation Tweaked To be added to GWSA: Actions related to natural resources can increase the volume of carbon stored in natural and working lands, reduce the loss of already-stored carbon, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from natural and working lands, helping to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gases and carbon pollution in the atmosphere. Said actions related to natural resources shall aim to

• ptimize and maximize benefits and achieve

the goals above, to the maximum extent

• practicable. They may include, but are not be

limited to: (g) conservation; (ii) restoration; (iii) enhancement; or (iv) management.

Natural and Working Lands Initiative U.S. Climate Alliance (2018)

• Improve inventory methods for land-based carbon flux
• Identify best practices to reduce GHG emissions and increase

resilient carbon sequestration

• Advance programs, policies, and incentives to reduce GHG

emissions and enhance resilient carbon sequestration

MA Studies and Opportunities (2018-2020)

Stakeholder Committee:

• Land Use and Nature-Based Solutions Workgroup of the GWSA

Implementation Advisory Committee

Pathways Study (late 2020):

• Scenario Planning: What MA is expected to “look like” in 2050
• Pathways: How we will we achieve GHG emissions reductions goals

2020 Clean Energy and Climate Change Plan

• Goals, Strategies, Timelines, Roles/Responsibilities

Strategy: Avoid Forest Conversion

• Protect forest blocks, especially those that

are large or interconnected, with the most carbon stored and the best ability to be resilient.

• Increase land conservation funding
• Prioritize carbon stock and/or sequestration
• Streamline and integrate state funding

Strategy: Forest Management

• Provide rebates or other form of

ecosystem service payment to landowners who manage land for carbon

• Promote sustainable and local uses of

wood for construction and thermal energy

Strategy: Make the value of forest carbon visible and quantifiable in state policies

• No Net Loss of Forest Carbon policy, which requires ecologically

equivalent mitigation when protected land is developed.

• Create a mitigation fund for large-scale development
• Improve the current MEPA Greenhouse Gas Policy

Strategy: Municipal

• Community Opt-In Program
• Goal: No net loss/avoided

deforestation

• Eligibility: Best practices around smart

growth, tree planting, and mitigation

• f loss of natural carbon in
• Incentive: Technical assistance and

funding

Other Strategies/Policies

Blue Carbon Systems Urban Trees (Expand Programs) Soil Carbon

Lessons Learned:

Challenges: Lack of Awareness Climate Policymakers focus on electricity, buildings and transportation Small private landowners don't have large enough property for carbon credits to cover costs of due diligence Renewable Energy Siting Solutions: Keep it Simple Natural Carbon Needed to Achieve Law’s Goals Carbon Benefits, Not Offsets Focus on Co-Benefits of Forests Clean air/water, habitat, recreation

“Natural climate solutions are vital to ensuring we achieve our ultimate objective of full decarbonization and can simultaneously boost jobs and protect communities in developed and developing countries.”

• - Christiana Figueres, Convener of Mission 2020 and former head of the UN Framework Convention
• n Climate Change

Contact Information

Steve Long

Director of Government Relations The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts 617-532-8367 slong@tnc.org @SteveTNC