should higher education go carbon neutral examining forest carbon sequestration alex french, m.s....
TRANSCRIPT
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Should Higher Education Go Carbon NeutralExamining Forest Carbon SequestrationAlex French, M.S. Candidate Environmental PolicyAdvisors: Dr. Stephen Bird, Dr. Susan Powers
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American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
• 684 Signatories
• Develop Climate Action Plans
• Complete tangible actions: including offsetting airfare
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To Reach Climate Neutrality
Step 1: Reduce Emissions
Step 2: Offset Remaining Emissions
• Developing offset projects themselves • Investing directly in
offset projects • Purchasing credits
generated from offset projects
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ACUPCC Offset Protocols• Additional• Transparent• Measurable• Permanent• Verified• Synchronous• Accounts for
Leakage• Registered• Not double-
counted• Retired
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Forest Carbon
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Formally Carbon Neutral?
Goals and Objectives
• Research Higher Education Involvement
• Explore if protocols are in line with schools’ preferences
• Compare developing an education-based project to purchasing certified offsets
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Methods
• Case Studies• Survey to Sustainability
Coordinators• Based on case studies
results• 99 schools participated
Research Questions
• What perceptions does higher education have? • Preferences / Benefits?• Barriers? • What model might
encourage involvement?
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CASE STUDIES OF EXISTING PROGRAMS
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Case Studies• University of Georgia: Costa Rica campus• Sewanee University• San Diego State University• Colgate University• Michigan State University• University of Florida at Gainseville• SUNY ESF• Presence Learning Village
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University of Georgia• Reforestation in Costa Rica• Experiential education and research focused• Student fee financed• Not-certified: students measure, report, and verify• Many “soft benefits” • Does not comply with ACUPCC protocols
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San Diego State University Model
• Environmental event is carbon neutral • Offsets against attendee travel• Compliance with ACUPCC protocols• Purchase offsets from Conservation Fund
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Upper Ouachita Nat’l Wildlife Refuge
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Survey to Sustainability CoordinatorsBased on Case Studies • 99 Completed Surveys • 83 AASHE members• 65 ACUPCC signatories
Questions• Perceptions• Benefits / Preferences• Barriers• Models
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PERCEPTIONS
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Offsets are Critical
Offsets not fraudulent
Carbon is undervalued
Justify more pollution
Greenwashing
Monocultures are effective
0 1 2 3 4 5
Perceptions of Carbon Markets
Average on 5-Point Likert
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Not Important Neutral Comply0%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%
4%22%
74%
Protocols Should Comply With Peer Groups (ACUPCC/AASHE)
Perception
Perc
enta
ge o
f Sch
ools
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BENEFITS / PREFERENCES
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Progra
m Cost
Certifica
tion
Education
Socia
l
Ecologic
al Benefits
Carbon Se
questrati
on
32%
13%19%
10% 10%16%
Weights of Program Attributes
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Educational Bene-fits
61%
Certification Bene-fits
23%
Equal Benefits16%
Education Vs. Certification: Constant Sum Results
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BARRIERS TO INVESTMENT
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Prefer other forms of offsets
Uncertain of best way to enter market
Inadequate Funding
Lack of interest
Skepticism of market
Not relevant to mission/vision
Complicated Administrative Requirements
Other barriers
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Barriers to Market Entry
Schools Facing Barriers
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Internal Verification Neutral Third Party Verification0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Preference for Internal Vs. External Verification
Num
ber o
f Sch
ools
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Certifica
tion
Progra
m Cost
Education
Socia
l
Ecologic
al
Carbon
05
10152025303540
Attributes for Schools with Prefer-ences for Internal or External Veri-
fication
Internal External
Perc
enta
ge o
f Sig
nific
ance
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Internal vs. External VerificationPreference for
Third Party Verification
Barrier: Interest in Producing or
Purchasing Forest Carbon
Not interested**
Formal Carbon Market is Critical
to Addressing Climate?
Agree***
** p < .05; *** p < .01
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Sewanee - Educa-tion Model
68%
Formal Certified Model
25%
Undecided7%
Education vs. Certification Models in Context
The following describes two “real world” carbon offset projects. Please indicate your preference for one of the models…
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Pay Plant71%
Pay Third Party Verification
21%
Undecided8%
Additionality vs. Registration
Imagine your university would like to develop a carbon-offset program... With the resources available from the university you can only afford one of the two options. Please select the best option:
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Discussion
• Is certification important for higher education? • Dr. Quint Newcomer’s analogy
• Additionality? • “Without the investment in developing a new nursery, no new
carbon would be sequestered.” Dr. Quint Newcomer
• Do these finding apply to other offsets?• Yale Community Carbon Fund
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Conclusions• Schools that want forest carbon want to work outside the
formal market• Peer protocols should be updated• Third party verification:• Is a barrier due to increased program costs.• does not increase transparency or additionality
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Getting the most out of Carbon Neutrality
• Take risks - Universities are not multi-national corporations!
• Invest in research, teaching, and outreach
• Develop unique, cost-effective projects
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Imagine
• 684 developing projects• Sharing data• “Learning by doing”• Training a workforce