Buying carbon credits gains steam

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A pilot program that allows carbon credits to be purchased from farmers and ranchers in western Oklahoma could help protect air and water quality in Tulsa if state officials can secure a buyer.

The Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, an Anadarko-based power supply system, has agreed to purchase 8,000 acres in the North Canadian River Watershed to help offset the amount of carbon dioxide it produces to power Altus Air Force Base and other cooperative areas.

Clay Pope, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, said they would like to do the same thing with eastern Oklahoma landowners in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed, which is the source of Tulsa’s drinking water.

Pope said that agricultural carbon sequestration has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by up to 15 percent each year.

“This isn’t the total answer to the problem of climate change, but it is a piece to the puzzle,” Pope said. “This is something that can help reduce carbon dioxide significantly and achieve our water quality goals.”

Typically, the buyer is a company that is seeking to offset the amount of carbon dioxide it is releasing into the atmosphere, which many scientists believe is contributing to climate change. Carbon sequestration increases the amount of photosynthesis that takes place, which results in an oxygen byproduct.

Landowners can reduce carbon output by implementing techniques such as grass and tree planting, rotational grazing and
no-till crop production which reduces erosion and runoff.

With no-till farming, herbicides are used so that soybeans, for example, can grow in wheat stubble without a need to retill the land. No-till agriculture is equal to a 2- to 3-inch rain by holding moisture in the soil that would make it easier to grow biofuel crops like sunflowers, Pope said. In addition, it reduces the amount of diesel fuel that is spent on machines tilling the land.

Carbon sequestration through no-till agriculture in western Oklahoma sold to WFEC for $3.50 a metric ton of sequestered carbon dioxide. Rates in national and global markets vary.

Pope said that no-till farming stores 0.4 to 0.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per acre a year.

“It’s something we’re just beginning in Oklahoma. You’re not going to get rich doing it. It’s a way to reward good stewardship,” Pope said.

Pope said landowners in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed have already been working to protect water quality with riparian zone restoration. The 150- to 300-foot buffers between the water and agricultural practices help reduce the harmful nutrient levels caused by excessive chicken litter and cattle grazing.

In addition, Pope said that the Oklahoma Conservation Commission will soon launch a Carbon Certification program to assist buyers and sellers by verifying emission offsets.

How it works

A company or individual purchases a carbon credit from a landowner who practices certain farming methods that absorb carbon dioxide.

Companies purchase carbon credits voluntarily. Greenhouse gases are not regulated by the federal government, but many o_cials believe that mandatory caps are part of the future. Proposed legislation gives credit or flexibility to companies that adopt greenhouse gas reduction methods early.