B.C. Ministry of Environment Climate Action Secretariat Emission Offset Project Report Template Version 1.0 January 2016

Transcription

1 B.C. Ministry of Environment Climate Action Secretariat Emission Offset Project Report Template Version 1.0 January 2016 Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project Emission Offset Project Report Title: Version 1.2 Date: August 12, 2016 Project Proponent: Offsetters Clean Technology GGIRCA Program Director Climate Action Secretariat Document prepared for: PO Box 9486 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9W6 Offsetters Clean Technology West Hastings St Document prepared by: Vancouver BC V6B 1N2 Contact: Cornelia Rindt Date: August 12, 2016 Page 1 of 16

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION PROJECT SCOPE & DESCRIPTION PROJECT PROPONENT CONTACT INFORMATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ACTIVITY PROJECT LOCATION PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STATUS AND DEVIATIONS NEW PROJECT IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITY PROJECT PLAN DEVIATIONS NEW PROJECT INSTANCES PROJECT GHG CALCULATIONS PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA USED BASELINE SCENARIO ASSESSMENT OF PERMANENCE [FOR SEQUESTRATION OR STORAGE PROJECTS: BASELINE REMOVALS] [FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS: BASELINE EMISSIONS] CALCULATIONS [FOR SEQUESTRATION OR STORAGE PROJECTS: PROJECT REMOVALS] [FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS: PROJECT EMISSIONS] CALCULATIONS [FOR SEQUESTRATION OR STORAGE PROJECTS: REMOVALS ENHANCEMENT] [FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS: EMISSIONS REDUCTION] PROJECT REDUCTION DISCOUNTS AND CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT CONTRIBUTIONS LIST OF ASSERTIONS PROJECT START DATE PROJECT REPORT PERIOD COMPLIANCE TO THE PROJECT PLAN GHG ASSERTIONS OWNERSHIP ANOTHER REGULATORY REQUIREMENT OR EMISSION OFFSET RECOGNITION SCHEME MANAGEMENT OF REVERSALS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Page 2 of 16

3 6 PROTOCOL REQUIREMENTS DECLARATION Page 3 of 16

4 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BC British Columbia CAD - Conservation/Avoided Deforestation EOR Emission Offsets Regulation FCOP Forest Carbon Offset Protocol GHG Greenhouse Gas GHG ECR Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation HA - Hectares HWP Harvested Wood Products IFM Improved Forest Management MFLNRO Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Regulation GHG ECR 2 INTRODUCTION 2.1 PROJECT SCOPE & DESCRIPTION Accepted Project Plan Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project Version 1.12 December 23, 2015 ESI Validation Report Quadra Island Offsetters Validation Statement Version N/A Date: December 29, 2015 Crediting Period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2039 April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 Project Report Period Protocol Project Reductions Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act section 54(1) grandfathering Protocol for the Creation of Forest Carbon Offsets in British Columbia Version 1.0 August 2011 In this report the total project reduction is calculated to be: 52,128 tco 2e April 18, PROJECT PROPONENT CONTACT INFORMATION Page 4 of 16

5 Contact Name and Title Organization Cornelia Rindt Director, Projects Offsetters Clean Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NatureBank Asset Management West Hastings St Address Vancouver BC V6B 1N2 Telephone Brief description of organization CORNELIA.RINDT@NATUREBANK.COM NatureBank manages and supports investments in natural assets to generate revenue from commodities ranging from cocoa to carbon or timber. Secondary contact name and title Phil Cull CFO Telephone PHIL.CULL@NATUREBANK.COM 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION 3.1 DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ACTIVITY This project involves two project activity types, as defined in FCOP: Improved Forest Management (IFM) and Conservation/Avoided Deforestation (CAD). IFM involves the increase of long-term forest carbon storage through the conservation of forest areas otherwise destined for commercial harvest. Project IFM components are forestland immediately prior to project commencement, and remain forestland in both the baseline and project scenario. CAD occurs through provincial acquisition of the project lands for their conservation under park/protected status, and avoids a change in land-use associated with the construction of waterfront vacation homes. CAD project components are forestland immediately prior to project commencement, but are converted to non-forest in the baselines scenario. The Project area is hectares (ha). Page 5 of 16

6 3.2 PROJECT LOCATION The project is located in the northern area of Quadra Island at the end of the Gulf of Georgia (see Figure 1). Quadra Island is part of the Discovery Group of islands, located on the west coast of British Columbia between the mainland and Vancouver Island. Quadra Island is around 200 km northwest of Vancouver, with the closest population centre being Campbell River, located just southwest on Vancouver Island. Figure 1: Project Location Access to Quadra Island is via a 2-3 km ferry ride from Campbell River to Quathiaski Cove on the southwest portion of the island. Quadra Island is approximately 35 km in length, with the majority of residents living in the southern third of the island. The population of Quadra Island ranges from 2,700 full time residents to nearly twice that in summer months. The project area is located about 2 km northeast of Granite Bay, which is an hour drive north of Quathiaski Cove (see Figure 2). Access to the project area is limited to either hiking or helicopter, as there is no public road access. A logging road from Pulton Bay leads into the project area from the north, but is not publically Page 6 of 16

7 accessible. The nearest paved and maintained road ends at Granite Bay to the south (see Figure 4). A 5km hiking trail enters the project area from a parking area near Granite Bay. Figure 2: Project Location Map Quadra Island 4 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STATUS AND DEVIATIONS 4.1 NEW PROJECT IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION Not applicable Page 7 of 16

8 4.2 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITY Implementation Status The Project area has been designated as park land under an Amendment to the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act. This regulatory change ensures that the project area is permanently protected and removed from harvesting. Monitoring All required monitoring activities have been carried out in accordance with the Project Plan. The following monitoring procedures were implemented as per the validated Project Plan: Table 1: Data Monitoring - Primary Procedures (Table 36 in Project Plan) Parameter Units of Measure Measured / Estimated Programs Methods Frequency of Method Justification of Method and Monitoring Frequency Leading species unit-less Field measure As per inventory plan Method follows VRI requirements adapted for the project site. As a park with low potential for natural risk, changes in leading species is unlikely DBH cm Field measure As per inventory plan Method follows VRI requirements adapted for the project site. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Age Field measure As per inventory plan Method follows VRI requirements adapted for the project site. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Height m Field measure As per inventory plan Method follows VRI requirements adapted for the project site. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Page 8 of 16

9 Litter t d.m. ha-1 Estimated CBM-CFS3; based on user's selection of administrative and ecological boundary, and local temperature CBM-CFS3 is an approved model under FCOP Merchantable volume m 3 Estimated Calculated in growth and yield models. CruiseComp, VDYP & TIPSY are provincially accepted models for harvest volume calculations and projections Aboveground live tree biomass t d.m. ha-1 Estimated Calculated in CBM from merchantable volume CBM-CFS3 is an approved model under FCOP. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Belowground live tree biomass t d.m. ha-1 Estimated Calculated in CBM from merchantable volume CBM-CFS3 is an approved model under FCOP. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Dead wood biomass t d.m. ha-1 Estimated CBM-CFS3; based on user's selection of administrative and ecological boundary and local temperature CBM Is an approved model under FCOP. Follows minimum frequency requirements from FCOP Field measurements and estimates of the parameter listed in Table 1 were last completed in July of 2015, which meets the Frequency of Method requirements. A monitoring report 1 was completed detailing the 1 Monitoring Report: Quadra Project - Monitoring Report - March_31_2016.docx Page 9 of 16

10 activities conducted. Therefore, all primary monitoring procedures for this verification period have been carried out in accordance with the Project Plan. Leakage Leakage is determined as per FCOP for potential harvest shifting. While external land use shifting was determined to be 3.6% for the CAD portion, the greater leakage value for potential external harvest shifting of 63.4% was applied to the entire Project. All monitoring requirements for leakage listed in the validated Project Plan have been met. No changes have occurred in the external harvest shifting since project implementation. The Project Plan describes the following for external harvest shifting leakage: Table 2: Species Profile and Leakage by Base Case 2 Species Northern Interior Southern Interior Coast Project Cedar - 2.9% 22.4% 4% Cypress % - White pine (+Lw, Py) - 2.0% 0.1% - Other 100% 95.1% 74.6% 96% 3 Substitution 100% 97.66% 84.79% Not calculated Leakage estimate 65% 63.1% 55.3% Not calculated According to FCOP: to derive a substitutability parameter (γ) for a specific project, a proponent needs to ascertain the representative tree species mix for their specific project area (in place of the average tree species mix for the coastal harvest area). As such the project has applied the following calculation to determine the coastal leakage factor for this project (0.04*.4 [cedar] +.96*1 [fir/hemlock])*65%) = 63.4%. As an IFM/CAD project, species composition is not expected to change during the Project Period. Non-Permanence Risk Factors No events have occurred within this verification period that would impact the project reductions. Information about non-permanence events was gathered through the MFLNRO, BC Parks, best available 2 Section 3.6 (Leakage) of validated Project Plan 3 49% hemlock, 40% Douglas-fir, 7% red alder. Page 10 of 16

11 and recent imagery, as well as on site observations. The project area was visited in July 2015, December 2015, and March 2016 (including a helicopter fly over), at which times no major disturbances (i.e. catastrophic windthrow, landslides, etc.) were observed. No timber harvesting or reported wildfires occurred in the project area during the verification period PROJECT PLAN DEVIATIONS Not applicable 4.4 NEW PROJECT INSTANCES Not applicable 5 PROJECT GHG CALCULATIONS 5.1 PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA USED The project was developed and validated in accordance with the requirements of the BC Forest Carbon Offset Protocol (FCOP), as an Improved Forest Management (IFM) and Conservation / Avoided Deforestation (CAD) project. Project Reductions for this verification period were calculated in accordance with the quantification methodology described in the validated Project Plan (Section 3.5), using field sampled and modeled data collected from within the project area in In this report, which covers the reporting period of April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015, the total Project Reduction is calculated to be 52,128 tco 2e. 5.2 BASELINE SCENARIO This project s determination of an appropriate FCOP eligible approach to baseline identification considered the presence of two distinct project activities. First, the project prevents construction of recreational residential dwellings and associated infrastructure along the waterfront. The avoidance of this permanent conversion of forestland to non-forest use aligns with the FCOP eligible activity of Conservation/Avoided Deforestation (CAD). Second, by enabling a conservation trajectory for the land the project avoids the imminent harvest of remaining merchantable timber on site. This is predicted in the real estate appraisal to be the most likely 4 See Monitoring Report for details Page 11 of 16

12 trajectory in order to realize the highest and best economic use for the land. The protection of these forests on land remaining forestland aligns with the FCOP eligible activity of Improved Forest Management (IFM). In addition, the project prevents the continuation of historic baseline timber harvesting practices projected to occur on a significant proportion of the site. The project scenario s prevention of a continued harvest cycle also aligns with FCOP IFM. 5.3 ASSESSMENT OF PERMANENCE The project has a number of measures in place to ensure the 100-year permanence of emission reductions, as required by the EOR (repealed and replaced by the GHG ECR on January 1, 2016). The project has completed its designation as parkland through an amendment of the Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, which placed the project area in long-term protection. In addition, the province has agreed to the terms laid out in the Carbon Sequestration Rights Agreement between the previous landowner and the project proponent, which includes land use restrictions that impact tree biomass and harvesting activities. The project accounting also includes a risk buffer pool. Risk buffer reductions will be tracked and managed by the project proponent. 5.4 BASELINE EMISSIONS CALCULATIONS Table 3: Baseline Emissions by Pool SSP Description tc tch 4 tco 2e BPA Ecosystem C 49, ,937 BP8 HWP In-Use (2,765) - (10,148) BP9 HWP Landfill (5,485) - (20,129) BE15 HWP Methane ,474 TOTAL 158, PROJECT EMISSIONS CALCULATIONS Table 4: Project Emissions by Pool SSP Description tc tch 4 tco 2e PPA Ecosystem C (32) - (117) PP8 HWP In-Use PP9 HWP Landfill PE15 HWP Methane (117) Page 12 of 16

13 5.6 EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS Table 5: Net Emission Reductions BASELINE TOTAL EMISSIONS 158,133 tco 2e PROJECT TOTAL EMISSIONS (117) tco 2e GROSS EMISSION REDUCTIONS 158,250 tco 2e 5.7 PROJECT REDUCTION Table 6: Project Reductions Year Gross Emission Reductions (A) Leakage (B) Reductions Risk Buffer (C) Project Reductions (C = A+B+C) tco 2e tco 2e tco 2e tco 2e 158,250 (100,330) (5,792) 52, DISCOUNTS AND CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT CONTRIBUTIONS Table 7: Net Saleable Credits Summary Year Project Reductions (D) Contingency Account (E) Net Saleable Credits (F=D+E) tco 2e tco 2e tco 2e ,128 Not applicable 52,128 Page 13 of 16

14 LIST OF ASSERTIONS PROJECT START DATE Offsetters Clean Technology asserts the project start date is April 1, PROJECT REPORT PERIOD Offsetters Clean Technology asserts: a. the project report period covered by this project report is April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015; b. the project report period is within the crediting period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2039; and c. the project report period is consistent with the project report period under the applicable protocol. COMPLIANCE TO THE PROJECT PLAN In consideration of the changes listed in section 5 of this project report, Offsetters Clean Technology asserts the project was carried out substantially as described in the accepted project plan. GHG ASSERTIONS Offsetters Clean Technology asserts the amount of each of the following calculated for the project report period: For sequestration or storage projects 117 tco 2e of project emissions; 158,250 tco 2e of emission reductions; 52,128 tco 2e of project reduction. Offsetters Clean Technology asserts each of the above amounts were measured and calculated in accordance with the Protocol for Development of Forest Carbon Offsets in British Columbia. OWNERSHIP Offsetters Clean Technology asserts Offsetters Clean Technology is entitled to the offset units or any other benefit issued in respect of the project reductions for the project report period. ANOTHER REGULATORY REQUIREMENT OR EMISSION OFFSET RECOGNITION SCHEME Offsetters Clean Technology asserts the asserted amounts of the 52,128 tco2e has not been or will not be applied to comply with a regulatory requirement under another enactment or submitted for recognition under another voluntary or mandatory emission offset scheme. Page 14 of 16

15 MANAGEMENT OF REVERSALS Contingency account contributions are not applicable as the project was grandfathered under section 54 of GGIRCA. Risk buffer reductions will be tracked and managed by the project proponent according to the validated project plan dated December 23, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Offsetters Clean Technology asserts this project report complies with the Regulation. 6 PROTOCOL REQUIREMENTS Not Applicable Page 15 of 16

16 7 DECLARATION I am a duly authorized officer of the project proponent and have personally examined and am familiar with the information submitted in this Project Report dated August 12, 2016 for Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project. Based upon reasonable investigation, including my inquiry of those individuals responsible for obtaining the information, I hereby warrant that the submitted information is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and that all matters affecting the validity of the asserted project reduction and the accepted Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project Plan dated December 23, 2015 upon which it is based have been fully disclosed. I understand that any false statement made in the submitted information may be punishable as a criminal offence in accordance with provincial or federal statutes. The project proponent has executed this emission offset project report as of the 12 th day of August, Project Proponent: Phil Cull Signature: Date: 12 th day of August, 2016] Title: CFO Page 16 of 16