Carbon
In 2021, the Endowment created the Forest Carbon Program in recognition of the increasing attention put on carbon in the forest sector. The program seeks to secure the sector’s leadership position in providing critical solutions to address the climate crisis. The goal of the Endowment Forest Carbon Program is to invest in catalytic climate resiliency solutions that benefit forests, markets, and communities.
The Endowment’s investments within this portfolio will prepare the sector to address the effects and implications of the changing climate by delivering the following impacts:
- The health and resiliency of North American forests are enhanced to expand and safeguard the ability to store carbon.
- Forest markets and products are advanced as carbon solutions.
- Rural communities and landowners are valued as key participants in, and beneficiaries of, markets for carbon.
Over the past several years, the Endowment has created partnerships with several organizations to further these goals, including:
- The Industrial Roundtables project, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, project gathered industry stakeholders to address wildfire risks by identifying ways to remove, transport, and use biomass from high-risk landscapes. Forest carbon was central, focusing on policies to enhance carbon mitigation. This initiative united federal agencies, local governments, NGOs, and forest product companies in promoting active forest management.
- The US Biochar Initiative project works with partners to increase applications, market, and production of biochar with the ultimate goal of carbon being buried in the ground, allowing carbon credits to be realized.
- The Scarred Mineland Restoration project with Bosland Growth aims to use innovative funding and financing structures to incentivize and enable more reforestation across the United States. The project aimed to promote reforestation as a way to generate carbon offsets and allow carbon sequestration to be both the outcome and the mechanism for leveraging new carbon markets.
- Landowner Education on Carbon Markets: In response to an increase in public and private investment in carbon management and climate smart forestry on private forest lands, Penn State University has designed a Forest Owner Carbon and Climate Education program (FOCCE) that has been investigating landowner capacity and willingness to adopt carbon management practices, and the implications for other forest land uses (e.g., wood products). The Endowment is partnering with the FOCCE program to understand this issue and its intersection with underserved landowners.
Want to know more? Contact Delie Wilkens at 864-233-7646 or delie@usendowment.org for more information.