Page 12 - Off Grid East Cost Spring 2017

Community Forests International’s 705 acre woodlot near Sussex has stored carbon to the tune of $300,000 to date.
Carbon Cap and Trade System Could Mean
$50 Million for Maritime Woodlot Owners
Community Forests International (CFI) of Sackville, New Brunswick, says that putting in place the right carbon pricing system could result in tens of millions of dollars per year in new exports by 2018. Based on the work the organization has undertaken since 2008 and demonstrated on their 705-acre woodlot outside of Sussex, CFI says that under the right cap and trade program New Brunswick woodlot owners would be able to sell $50 million worth of carbon credits into North American markets beginning in 2018.
Tremendous opportunity
“If you look at the millions of acres of private land in the province owned by ordinary New Brunswickers, managing our forests to capture and store more carbon than they would otherwise, could be the biggest opportunity for rural NB in a generation” says Dale Prest, CFI’s lead on developing carbon credits from well-managed forests.
By utilizing forest management practices on their woodlot that store more carbon than traditional forestry, Forest intl. has already been able to sell $300,000 worth of carbon credits to customers in the rest of Canada. However, these markets are small and limited compared to the markets that could be created by the government if they put in place cap and trade policies to price carbon and fight climate change.
12 off the grid
Dale Prest onsite at Community Forests International’s 705-acre carbon forest property near Sussex NB