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 STRENGTHEN REDUCE EMISSIONS REMOVE POLLUTION 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% USDA Forest Service, 2018 ◦ Family Forests ◦ Land Trusts
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 Nature-based Order 569: solutions = using nature to Nature and B solve a problem Climate (2016) A Natural climate solutions = using nature to solve the problem of too much carbon in the atmosphere
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 2019 Legislation Tweaked Definition: “Nature-based solutions”, strategies To be added to GWSA: Actions related to that conserve, create, restore and employ natural resources can increase the volume of natural resources to enhance climate carbon stored in natural and working lands, adaptation, resilience and mitigation to mimic reduce the loss of already-stored carbon, and natural processes or work in tandem with man- decrease greenhouse gas emissions from made engineering approaches to address natural and working lands, helping to achieve natural hazards like flooding, erosion, drought the goal of reducing greenhouse gases and and heat islands and to maintain healthy carbon pollution in the atmosphere. Said natural cycles to sequester and maintain actions related to natural resources shall aim to carbon and other greenhouse gases. optimize 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. o Increase land conservation funding o 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 of 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: Solutions: Lack of Awareness Keep it Simple Climate Policymakers focus on Natural Carbon Needed to Achieve electricity, buildings and transportation Law’s Goals Small private landowners don't have Carbon Benefits, Not Offsets large enough property for carbon credits to cover costs of due diligence Focus on Co-Benefits of Forests Clean Renewable Energy Siting 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 on Climate Change
Contact Information Steve Long Director of Government Relations The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts 617-532-8367 slong@tnc.org @SteveTNC
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