The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) at the University of San Diego School of Law recently completed a project to identify opportunities to develop carbon offset credit projects in the San Diego using existing protocols. The results of this study, which was funded by a grant from The San Diego Foundation, will help decision makers understand the role that carbon offset credits could play in achieving carbon neutrality in the region. EPIC screened 166 carbon offset credit protocols for those that were active, covered activities applicable to the San Diego region, and resulted in GHG emission reductions or removals that were additional to what is already required.
Below is the report and supporting appendices for this project.
The project report provides background on carbon offset credits, the goals and approach of the project, overall results, and a summary of results by GHG emissions category.
Project Report, PDF 1.8 MB
The appendices provide a detailed discussion of each GHG emissions category, including the following:
Based on the analysis conducted for this project, the following key findings emerged:
- There are Limited Opportunities to Use Existing Protocols for Offset Credit Projects in the San Diego Region – Overall, there are limited opportunities for offset credit projects using existing protocols in the San Diego region. Limitations are due in part to California’s comprehensive regulations related to GHG emissions, the number of protocols that include activities applicable to the San Diego region, and the scale of activities related to eligible project types under relevant protocols.
- The Agriculture, Industrial, and Natural and Working Lands Categories Have the Highest Number of Relevant Protocols -- The Agriculture, Industrial Processes and Product Use, and Natural and Working Lands categories have the highest number of protocols that are active, applicable to activities in the San Diego region, and have resulting GHG reductions or removals that are considered additional based on the screening conducted for this project. When further screened for protocols that have at least one project in the U.S. and CA, a proxy for past feasibility, these three categories also have the highest number of protocols. Natural and Working Lands protocols include activities related to forestry, wetlands, and grassland management. Agriculture protocols include manure and fertilizer management, and those in Industrial Processes and Product Use mainly cover destruction and replacement of ozone depleting substances (ODS).
- Eleven Carbon Offset Credit Protocols Considered Additional Have Been Used in California -- Identifying protocols considered additional with at least one project in the U.S. was intended as a conservative approach to capture the highest number of protocols that could be used to develop projects in the San Diego region. A further screen to identify protocols considered additional with at least one project in California identified 11 protocols. Similar to the findings above, the Agriculture, Industrial Processes and Product Use, and Natural and Working Lands categories represent a majority of these protocols. Four protocols in the Natural and Working Lands category, three of which are associated with forestry, account for nearly three-quarters of all the offset credit projects associated with this group of protocols.
- There is Only One Project Using an Existing Carbon Offset Credit Protocol that is Located in the San Diego Region -- Of all the offset credit protocols and associated projects identified for this project, only one project is located in San Diego County: the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (CRSP) Reforestation Project, which uses the Climate Action Reserve’s Forest protocol. While not determinative of current potential for offset credit projects, lack of projects located in San Diego County suggests that in the past, projects may not have been feasible. This could have been due to the relatively few protocols relevant to the San Diego region, limited opportunity for the project types eligible under protocols, high levels of regulation in California, or the price of voluntary offset credits.
- Opportunities for Carbon Offset Credit Projects May Decrease Over Time as California Regulation Expands -- Determining opportunities for additional GHG project opportunities should be considered a dynamic process. This report represents a snapshot in time of laws and regulation, the status of current protocols, and the current price of offset credits. As California continues to regulate GHG emitting activities over time, it is likely that opportunities for offset credits will decrease. For example, regulation of solid waste continues to divert more and more organic waste from landfills, further reducing whatever limited opportunity currently exists. In the Agriculture category, SB 1383 (2016) allows CARB to regulate emissions from manure management. And, CARB is considering adding compliance protocols under its Cap-and-Trade program related to blue carbon and wetlands, forestry, livestock, agriculture, and rangeland, urban forestry, ODS, and mine methane capture.
- Further Research Would be Needed to Determine Details about Carbon Offset Credit Project Opportunities -- This project represents a preliminary screening to identify potential opportunities to reduce or remove GHG emissions in the San Diego region. More research would be needed to determine whether any specific project could be considered eligible under offset credit protocols and whether the associated emissions are additional. It is possible that a project associated with a protocol considered not additional here could, in fact, result in additional offset credits. The opposite may also be possible.
EPIC hosted a webinar on Thursday, June 10th to summarize the findings of the report. Watch the presentation below. PowerPoint, PDF 2MB.