Fujian Daily, April 24, 2024, page 08
Core Tips
Recently, the Shanghai Handbook (2023 Annual Report) edited by UN-Habitat was successfully published in Chinese and English, and Sanming Carbon Sink Trading was selected as one of the six Chinese cases.
The Shanghai Handbook is an important achievement of World Cities Day. The 2023 edition of the Shanghai Handbook is themed "Promoting Resource Integration and Sharing the Future of the City", and the section "Sanming, Fujian, China: Carbon Sink Trading System Enhances Forest Ecological Value" introduces the "Sanming Model", which is the first in Sanming City, in which government guidance and social participation are parallel, ecological protection and economic development are carried out simultaneously, and scientific testing and resource sharing are equally emphasized.
"The inclusion of the Sanming case in the UN-Habitat Shanghai Handbook is a milestone event. This achievement marks that the forestry carbon sequestration project in Sanming City has been internationally recognized and has international influence. Zeng Gang, chief expert of the Shanghai Handbook and dean of the Institute of Urban Development of East China Normal University, believes that the selection of the Sanming case shows the world China's determination and achievements in ecological civilization construction and climate change response.
Forestry carbon ticket is a practice of Sanming to keep in mind the entrustment and explore the value realization mechanism of ecological products. By "selling air", excellent ecology has been exchanged for real money, and the vision of "getting rich without cutting down trees" has become a reality step by step.
From the villagers of Changkou Village, Gaotang Town, Jiangle County, to the country's first forestry carbon coupon, to Fujian's first socialized carbon sequestration afforestation dividends to forest farmers, from the first inter-provincial trading of Sanming forestry carbon coupons to being selected into the "Shanghai Manual", Sanming's achievements in forestry carbon sequestration project practice, innovative management and ecological civilization construction have been demonstrated to the world......
This is a journey of continuous innovation and continuous improvement, seeking a combination between the tide of the times and regional characteristics, a balance between ecological protection and economic development, and a foothold between affirmation and doubt. All the way twists and turns, all the way forward.
Seize the opportunity,
From the Min River to the Huangpu River
Qihou Village, another village that has been transformed by forestry carbon tickets.
On August 15, 2023, Sanming Forestry carbon tickets were traded across provinces for the first time. (File photo)
In the drizzle, the reporter followed the winding mountain road to the village of Qihou, which was shrouded in thick fog. This small mountain village, which is farthest away from the market town, is located on a high mountain with an altitude of more than 600 meters in Bailian Town, Jiangle County.
"In the past, people were most afraid of rain. The road became muddy and potholed, with a drop of half a meter, and the cut bamboo could not be transported, but could only rot on the mountain. Striding on the Zhushan Highway that had just completed cement hardening last year, Tang Youyuan, who runs 60 acres of Zhushan, was smiling.
This Zhushan Highway connects villages at one end, 300 acres of rice fields and nearly 4,000 acres of Maozhu Mountain at the other. There are a total of 5 villager groups in the whole village, and this Zhushan Highway is related to the livelihood of the 3 villager groups.
The previous dirt road made the villagers "suffer a lot". Tang Youyuan said with deep feelings: "Even if it doesn't rain, the same transportation of bamboo, the freight of a ton of bamboo in other villages is 80 yuan, and our village costs 100 yuan." The average price of a bamboo is less than 10 yuan, and the wages and freight account for 7 yuan. There was no money to be made, and some people simply left it alone, and nearly half of the nearby fields were abandoned. ”
Changing this dirt road has become a common wish of everyone. Last year, the village's forestry carbon tickets were successfully sold, which solved the urgent need for start-up funds for hardened roads.
Qihou Village is the second batch of "Central Red Army Villages" and was once the location of the Tongtieling Combat Headquarters. It is a disadvantage because it was once a provincial-level poor village, and it has an advantage of high mountains and dense forests, with a forest area of 17,000 mu. In 2017, Qihou Village cooperated with Jinsen Shanghua Forestry Co., Ltd. in Jiangle County to carry out village-enterprise cooperative afforestation management, of which 1,973 acres were developed into carbon sink forests and received forestry carbon tickets.
On August 15, 2023, at the National Ecology Day event in Fujian, Qihou Village sold 8,013 tons of carbon sinks to Shanghai Huizhou Construction Group at a price of 15 yuan per ton, bringing 125,000 yuan of income to the village collective.
This is due to the opportunity of Shanghai-Ming cooperation. In 2021, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Revitalization and Development of Old Revolutionary Areas in the New Era", pointing out that it is necessary to "support old revolutionary areas to carry out pilot property rights incentive mechanisms to promote ecological protection and restoration".
Carbon tickets turned into banknotes, and the villagers of Qihou Village exclaimed, "Air can really be sold for money". How to spend this money? Dividends or road repair? The village held a villagers' congress to discuss the plan, and the plan for road construction was supported by all the villagers.
During the construction process, many villagers volunteered to help and contributed money and materials. The widening of the road and the straightening of the bend required the cutting of some bamboo forests, and the more than 10 farmers involved did not have a second word.
"This new road has brought new changes to the production and life of the villagers. Tang Shuiwang, deputy director of the village committee of Qihou Village, said that with the improvement of road conditions, the cost of cutting down moso bamboo and transportation costs have been reduced a lot. Nowadays, the cost of cutting a bamboo has dropped from 7 yuan to 4 yuan, and there is no need to "watch the sky to eat" as you cut it.
The "road to prosperity" in exchange for good air has made the villagers realize the huge economic value of Qingshan, and also strengthened the determination of Qihou Village to adhere to the path of green development. Tang Shuiwang told reporters: "In the past, there was only less than 50,000 yuan of village collective income per year, but through cooperation with Jinsen Shanghua Forestry Co., Ltd., more than 3,800 acres of forest land will be used for the development of forestry carbon tickets, and relying on forest land transfer, photovoltaic power generation and other projects, now the annual income of the village collective can reach 150,000 yuan." ”
The more far-reaching significance of this carbon sink sold in Qihou Village is that this is the first time that Sanming City's forestry carbon tickets have been sold across provinces.
"Sanming forestry carbon tickets were developed according to the methodology developed by Sanming City itself, and were previously only circulated in the area of Sanming City. Ye Banghui, afforestation section of Sanming Forestry Bureau, told reporters that with the help of Shanghai-Ming counterpart cooperation opportunities, Sanming forestry carbon tickets have the opportunity to go out of Sanming and enter Shanghai.
On the same day, it signed a contract with Shanghai Huizhou Construction Group Co., Ltd. together with Qihou Village, as well as Dongqian Village, Anren Township, Jiangle County. In this signing, Shanghai Huizhou Construction Group purchased a total of 20,000 tons of Sanming forestry carbon tickets.
Since then, Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket has taken the second and third steps into Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region......
On November 5, 2023, at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which opened in Shanghai, the organizer purchased 10,000 tons of forestry carbon coupons from Lechangkou Village to offset the carbon emissions generated by the expo.
On December 19, 2023, the Sanming Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment issued a special forestry carbon ticket verification certificate. According to this certificate, Jiangsu Boji Spray System Co., Ltd. wrote off 60 tons of Sanming Forestry carbon tickets, which were used to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the company during the production and transportation of products from January to November of that year.
Up to now, the trading amount of Sanming forestry carbon sequestration has reached nearly 30 million yuan, and the trading volume and transaction amount of forestry carbon sequestration products are the first in the province.
reform and innovation,
From "Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket"
To the "Forestry Carbon Ticket"
Forestry carbon vouchers have not been achieved overnight from local practice to "China Case" in the Shanghai Manual. Behind the forestry carbon ticket, there is a change of concept again and again, and it is a reform to break the problem again and again.
Changkou Village, Gaotang Town, Jiangle County, has built a forest health trail between green mountains and green waters. (File photo)
The first level, birth.
In the twilight of spring, the mountains of Changkou Village, Gaotang Town, Jiangle County are rainy, splashing green and dripping green. The story of Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket starts here.
In April 1997, the scientific assertion and important instructions that "green mountains and clear waters are priceless treasures" made the familiar forest in the eyes of the villagers of Changkou Village begin to have a different scenery.
Qingshan is a treasure, priceless and marketable. The "converter" that turns the carbon sequestration and emission reduction capacity of forests into gold and silver mountains through the carbon trading market is the forestry carbon sink. The carbon stored in forest vegetation, litter and soil is called carbon storage, and the increase in carbon storage in the current year can be used to develop carbon sink projects and enter the carbon trading market.
The forest area of Sanming City is 27.18 million mu, and the forest coverage rate is 77.12%. With such abundant forest resources and the transformation mechanism of forestry carbon sinks, is it time to turn "wealth without cutting down trees" from a vision to a reality?
Liao Yunhua, chief engineer of Fujian Golden Forest Industry Co., Ltd., described the difficulties of Sanming's development of forestry carbon sequestration projects with two data, "5%" and "10%".
In China, the realization of the value of forestry carbon sinks mainly depends on the "key 5%". The mainland's mandatory carbon market was launched in July 2021. If the carbon emissions of the included enterprises exceed the upper limit of the quota allocated by the government, they need to purchase the remaining allowances from enterprises with strong energy conservation and emission reduction capabilities, or realize the settlement of carbon allowances through other supplementary mechanisms, otherwise they will face penalties. According to the Measures for the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading (for Trial Implementation), key emitting entities can use the National Certified Voluntary Emission Reduction (CCER) to offset the settlement of carbon emission allowances every year, and the offset ratio shall not exceed 5% of the carbon emission allowances to be paid. The demand for this 5% emission allowance supports the forestry carbon sink market.
Of Sanming's 27.18 million acres of forest, less than 10% of forestry carbon sink projects can be developed in accordance with CCER standards. "This is the problem of honor students. Liao Yunhua told reporters that the methodology of the forestry carbon sink CCER project filed by the state requires afforestation without forest land or artificial middle and young forest management. However, the barren mountains suitable for forests in our province have long been green, and a large number of existing ecological public welfare forests, natural forests, and commercial forests in key locations cannot develop forestry carbon sink CCER projects.
Is it just to let this continuous green mountain miss the outlet, and let the forest farmers live a poor life guarding the gold and silver mountains?
On May 18, 2021, in front of a stone monument printed with the words "green mountains and green waters are priceless treasures" in Changkou Village, this difficult question was answered.
On the same day, Zhang Linshun, secretary of the Party branch of Changkou Village, received the country's first forestry carbon ticket. This carbon ticket, numbered "0000001", involves 3,197 acres of ecological public welfare forest in Changkou Village, and the carbon emission reduction during the monitoring period is 12,723 tons. Among them, 2,723 tons of carbon emission reduction were bought by Fujian Tonghai Nickel Technology Co., Ltd. at a price of 40,845 yuan on the same day.
In order to realize the benefit of forest farmers, Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket has made bold innovations on the basis of the methodology of the forestry carbon sequestration CCER project.
On the one hand, the restrictions on forest species and forest age have been reduced in the development of the main body, as long as it is a forest land and forest trees with clear ownership within the administrative area, you can apply for the development of forestry carbon tickets, and obtain the "ID card" of the carbon sequestration and emission reduction value of the forest as an asset and trade.
On the other hand, in terms of measurement methods, different from forestry carbon sequestration CCER projects that emphasize "additional net increase", Sanming forestry carbon tickets are calculated based on the increment of forest growth, and converted into net carbon storage (including natural growth and artificial intervention) according to the "Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket (SMCER) Carbon Emission Reduction Measurement Method".
"In terms of development subjects and measurement scope, 'carbon tickets' are a useful supplement to forestry carbon sequestration CCER projects. Ye Banghui said.
Another level, out of the mountain.
On January 18, the China Association for the Promotion of International Science and Technology officially released the two group standards (hereinafter referred to as the "two group standards") of the "Measures for the Measurement of Carbon Emission Reduction of Forestry Carbon Tickets" and the "Guidelines for the Management of Forestry Carbon Tickets" led by Fujian Golden Forest Industry Co., Ltd.
"It's a 'forestry carbon ticket', not a 'Sanming forestry carbon ticket'. Liao Yunhua emphasized that there is no prefix "Sanming" in the names of these two group standards, "which means that this set of standards is not only applicable to Sanming, but also recognized by relevant institutions in other places, so that carbon tickets go out of Sanming and go to the whole country has a greater boost." ”
These two group standards originated from the "wall" of Sanming Forestry Carbon Ticket in the process of promotion and the "worry" of what to do in the future.
In May 2022, Shanghai and Sanming established a counterpart cooperative relationship. Taking advantage of this shareholder trend, Sanming's snacks, agricultural specialties, good scenery, and red culture have all entered Shanghai. Forestry carbon tickets are also trying to knock on the door of Shanghai's voluntary carbon market.
"We ran a lot of departments and companies with carbon tickets, and we were questioned a lot. Liao Yunhua told reporters that the promotion of carbon tickets in Shanghai "hit a wall", and the lack of standards between the two places is one of the important reasons.
hit the wall, and Ye Banghui. In June 2023, Jiemian News reported that Shanghai and Ming will explore cooperation models in the fields of forestry carbon sink methodology development, project and scenario creation, and emission reduction consumption channels, and support the inclusion of the developed stock of "Sanming forestry carbon tickets" into Shanghai's carbon inclusive system. "It's hard. Ye Banghui said, "Sanming forestry carbon ticket is difficult to integrate with Shanghai in terms of methodology. ”
Despite the difficulties, efforts should still be made to pave a way for forestry carbon tickets to a broader stage.
Through the market channel, look for allies. One way to do this is to develop group standards. Group standards are independently formulated and published by social organizations and industrial technology alliances for voluntary selection by the market, and the government does not set administrative licenses for them. Taking the "Measures for Measuring Carbon Emission Reductions of Forestry Carbon Tickets", one of the two group standards, as an example, 19 of the 23 joint formulation units are outside Sanming City, including 15 units outside Fujian Province. "At least these units recognize this standard, and they can attract more enterprises and institutions to recognize it in the future. Liao Yunhua said.
Promote cooperation through government guidance. Recently, Shanghai and Sanming are communicating on the "2024 Key Work Plan for Counterpart Cooperation between Shanghai and Sanming City", and "further exploring the cooperation mechanism between Sanming forestry carbon ticket and Shanghai carbon market to help realize the value of Sanming ecological products" is one of the important contents. Recently, experts from the Chinese Academy of Forestry and the Fujian Academy of Forestry have also come to Sanming and Jiangle at the invitation of relevant units in Sanming City, and walked into Fujian Golden Forest Industry Co., Ltd. for investigation and research, and jointly discussed how to help Sanming forestry carbon tickets further break through geographical restrictions......
tapping potential,
From a mandatory carbon market to a voluntary carbon market
While Sanming forestry carbon tickets have passed all the way and stood on a broader stage, the market for forestry carbon tickets is also expanding.
Foresters receive forestry carbon stamps. (File photo)
On the morning of August 15, 2023, the case of Chen Moumou, who was prosecuted by the Ninghua County People's Procuratorate, was tried in the Ninghua County People's Court. Defendant Chen Moumou voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, and was finally sentenced to a suspended sentence and voluntarily purchased 231.7 tons of forestry carbon tickets to make up for the loss of forest ecosystem services caused by his actions.
As early as 2021, there was a similar case in Jiangle County. In that year, the Jiangle County People's Court concluded a forest fire case, with a fire area of 96 acres, and the defendant took the initiative to compensate 170,000 yuan, and subscribed to 133 tons of forestry carbon sinks to carry out alternative restoration of the damaged ecological environment, and was sentenced to 9 months in prison with a one-year probation.
This is an innovative practice of Sanming City to introduce forestry carbon tickets into the compensation mechanism for ecological and environmental damage restoration, enrich the application scenarios of carbon tickets, and develop the carbon ticket market.
In addition to the mandatory carbon market, there is also a voluntary carbon market full of potential.
"Carbon tickets cannot be bought by key emitting enterprises included in the mandatory carbon market to offset allowances, but they can be used by non-emission control enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities and build corporate brands. Ye Banghui believes that the realization of the "double carbon" goal requires the joint efforts of the whole society, and with the improvement of the awareness and willingness of enterprises and individuals, the voluntary carbon market will become more and more active.
In recent years, in addition to "ecological justice + forestry carbon tickets", Sanming City has also promoted the application of carbon tickets in a variety of scenarios, so as to mobilize the activity of the voluntary carbon market.
Achieve carbon neutrality for large-scale events. That is, when holding large and medium-sized activities such as conferences, competitions, and performances, the carbon footprint can be eliminated and carbon neutrality can be achieved by purchasing forestry carbon tickets. The organizers of the 2021 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Award Film Festival and the 44th World Heritage Conference have successively purchased Sanming forestry carbon tickets to achieve a "zero-carbon conference". In November 2023, the organizer of the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai purchased 10,000 tons of Sanming forestry carbon coupons to offset the carbon emissions generated by the expo.
Sanming also encourages large and medium-sized events such as events and performances held in Sanming to give priority to the purchase of forestry carbon tickets to offset their carbon emissions. In May 2022, the "Implementation Plan for Carbon Neutrality of Large-scale Events and Official Meetings in Sanming City (Trial)" was issued, encouraging government agencies, enterprises and institutions, social organizations, large and medium-sized event organizers, tourist attractions, etc., to give priority to purchasing forestry carbon tickets or achieving carbon neutrality by creating carbon sink forests.
Helping cultural tourism to achieve zero-carbon tourism. On August 29, 2023, Fujian Golden Forest Industry Co., Ltd. and Jiangle County Yuhua Cultural Tourism and Health Care Group Co., Ltd. released the "Zero Carbon Yongxing" platform and officially launched it.
Support enterprises to collect and store carbon tickets. The Sanming Municipal Government guides enterprises to adopt the method of guaranteed purchase and premium sharing to collect and store forestry carbon tickets. For example, Fujian Jinsen Carbon Sequestration Technology Co., Ltd. and Shaxian "Two Mountains" Ecological Resources Operation and Management Co., Ltd. collected and stored a total of 20,000 tons of forestry carbon tickets, amounting to 200,000 yuan.
Last year, Fujian Golden Forest Industry Co., Ltd., together with Shanghai Dance Enterprise Management Center (Limited Partnership) and Zhonglin (Anhui) Forest Storage Co., Ltd., jointly invested in the establishment of "Jinsen Carbon Sequestration (Shanghai) Science and Technology Service Co., Ltd.", relying on the advantages of Shanghai market, talents, capital and policy information, docking Shanghai environmental and energy trading strategic cooperation, laying out the Yangtze River Delta carbon market, and comprehensively building a carbon industry base.
Forest farmers and the state-owned forest farm in Guanzhuang, Shaxian County, cooperated to manage a "carbon neutral" demonstration forest. (File photo)
It is understood that by the end of 2023, Sanming City has developed a total of 49 forestry carbon ticket projects, involving a forest area of 339,400 mu and carbon emission reduction of 1.122 million tons, with a cumulative transaction volume of 108,000 tons and a transaction amount of 1.509 million yuan, and a total of 106 forestry carbon tickets.
Source: Fujian Daily