Cliff Chapman: Creating local carbon credits delivers local benefits

You’re probably aware that trees are growing in the Amazon rainforest to offset American corporations’ carbon footprints. You might also know that timber in the Pacific Northwest offers similar carbon credits.

What you likely don’t know is that oaks, hickories and sycamores in central Indiana could provide the same corporate carbon credits. And those trees come with added benefits: They contribute to our urban tree cover, improve the air we breathe and keep some of the money paid for carbon credits close to home.

Admittedly, current close-to-home opportunities for carbon credits are limited. (In full disclosure, mine is the only organization that has local credits available for purchase.) But that could change if more organizations get involved.

In recent years, you’ve likely heard a lot about carbon credits, especially as more companies have embraced “net zero” policies, seeking to virtually eliminate their negative environmental impact. While such efforts can take a number of forms, the approach that gets the most attention is planting and protecting forests, and the bulk of that attention goes to large-scale reforestation efforts like those in the Amazon. But that focus overlooks an additional option that can produce carbon credits while also delivering closer-to-home benefits: urban forests.

Wooded areas in and around cities are dwarfed by ecosystems like the Amazon rainforest, but these urban forests nonetheless provide relief to our planet and nearby communities. They also provide opportunities for carbon credits.

Now, that doesn’t mean that anyone who owns a clump of trees in a city can start offering carbon credits. On the contrary: To provide credits, properties must meet specific qualifications set by national nonprofit carbon credit registry and certification organization City Forest Credits, one of five North American organizations whose independent carbon standards are endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance, the Geneva, Switzerland-based organization that oversees the global voluntary carbon market.

City Forest Credits certifies only urban-area properties that are protected in some way—by an easement, for example, or a deed restriction or ownership by a preservation organization—and that would be at risk of development without protections. Properties that meet those basic standards are assessed, scored and valued for carbon credits based on factors such as type and quality of trees, watershed benefits, impact on public health and well-being, and plans for preservation and improvement.

In July, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed Resolution 246, committing to developing a plan to protect urban forests. The resolution declares that Marion County alone has 59 square miles of urban forests, with 9 square miles being protected as part of Indy Parks. Surrounding counties have many more urban-forest acres that would qualify for carbon credits.

Tapping into that value won’t happen overnight. The process is complex and lengthy. It takes willing landowners, the forging of legal protections, and property evaluation and assessment. It will require the participation of municipalities and corporations.

But it will be worth it, as local companies can get the carbon credits they need, and the community gets a range of benefits, including local investment, corporate support of nearby nonprofits, protected green spaces, cleaner air and recreation areas.

So I call on nonprofits, developers, landowners and government officials to get to work. Let’s collaborate to identify green spaces that could provide carbon credits and unlock the benefits for local corporations and the community. Let’s keep carbon investments close to home and reap rewards for the whole region.•

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Chapman is president and CEO of the Central Indiana Land Trust.