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Oklahoma Carbon Program accepting applications
The Oklahoma Carbon Program is now accepting applications from aggregators and verifiers of Oklahoma agricultural and forestry carbon offsets. Oil and gas companies who want verification of downhole injection of carbon dioxide are also invited to apply. Applications and details are available on the Oklahoma Conservation Commission website, www.conservation.ok.gov from the left side menu under "Carbon Sequestration." "There are definitely benefits from participating in this voluntary program," said Stacy Hansen, Carbon Program director for the Conservation Commission. "For example, oil and gas companies can now get formal recognition with a certificate if they are capturing greenhouse gas emissions from a source and pumping them underground to recover oil," she said. "Even though they may have been injecting underground for years, the program's third party verification of the carbon storage now provides companies the credibility that is necessary to claim the injected carbon dioxide as a carbon offset and trade it as a commodity." A carbon offset occurs when a practice, such as injecting carbon dioxide underground, planting trees, or reducing tillage, reduces the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. "Because soils have become so depleted from intensive tillage, which releases carbon dioxide," says Hansen, "the potential for those soils to store carbon dioxide is now quite high." One goal of Oklahoma's carbon program is to connect the interested public with screened companies that handle carbon offset contracts. "We will publish on our website the names of approved aggregators and verifiers. We will also refer to them in program publications that are distributed at events where the carbon program exhibits," said Hansen, noting that the program was promoted at 20 Oklahoma events reaching around 700 people in 2009. Aggregators are companies that sign carbon contracts with multiple customers and sell the carbon offsets created by their customers to one or more buyers. The program requires aggregators to be bonded, have insurance, and make clear to customers signing contracts what will happen if a contracted carbon offset is reversed intentionally or by an extreme weather event. "All of these things sound pretty basic," said Hansen, "but for those people unfamiliar with carbon contracts they could get into trouble if they don't know what questions to ask." This fits with another goal of the program, which is to protect Oklahomans by providing them with information and some oversight of carbon trading in the state. What the program primarily offers is third-party verification and certification. Third-party verifiers are people who assess land management and project documents to confirm that the land or project is being managed to a particular standard. To participate in the carbon program, verifiers of agricultural and forestry offsets must have expertise in their area of interest, have insurance, and submit a resume. "Screening applicants allows us to gather key information that the public needs to know before we approve and advertise them to the public," said Hansen. While the possibility of federal climate legislation waxes and wanes, voluntary carbon markets and programs in the U.S and abroad continue. According to Hansen, in Oklahoma there are two simple reasons why. "The same practices that remove carbon dioxide from the air also protect soil and water quality," said Hansen. "We are a conservation agency. So encouraging Oklahomans to voluntarily improve air and water, something we can all benefit from, just makes sense to us and fits with our mission. The fact that people can make money is simply a co- benefit," she said. "The second reason is this--as long as carbon markets exist, Oklahomans will benefit from a program to protect and assist those who are interested in participating." While the Conservation Commission's Carbon Program provides a mechanism for Oklahomans to have their carbon offsets verified, what does the program mean for Oklahomans who aren't buying or selling carbon offsets? "Well, it's not costing them anything," said Hansen, of the voluntary, fee-based program that is housed in the agency's Water Quality Division. "And as participation in the program grows, we can all benefit from the conservation practices that the program encourages, because those practices result in healthier soil, water, and air," she said.
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