Future Audits

Will I need to provide an annual update?

      After registering C credits (i.e., a forestry offset project) most registries do require an a annual update.  This may range from simply stating that your project is proceeding as planned and that there has been no fire or disease outbreaks, to having to provide an on the ground annual inventory.

Will I have to do anything special at the end of the project period?

      If you have an offset project that is selling C credits over a specific period (i.e., 10 years) most registries will require an on the ground inventory at the end of the project to confirm the sequestration of the proposed project carbon.

Will anybody need to access my land during an offset project?

      A number of state registries do plan on audit registered projects.  These audits will likely include the use of aerial or other remote sensing imagery to confirm that forest exist in the areas that are registerd.  Also, an onsite visit, appropriate notification may be required to confirm that forest stand type, condition, and density are appropriate with what is being proposed in the offset project.

What will happen if there is less carbon sequestered on my land than originally estimated?

     One approach to limiting concerns about overestimating forest C sequestration is to limit the types of C a landowner can use in their accounting.  For example, if landowners only are allowed to use aboveground biomass C there is belowground biomass C that is unaccounted for and may help reduce the effect of overestimates in aboveground estimations.  Another tactic is to discount the amount of C a landowner can register.  In this case if a landowner were to estimate an sequestration of 6000 Mton of CO₂ equivalents they might only be allowed to register 80% of this value to help insure against estimation error.  In the end, the actual cost to landowners for overestimation is not explicitly stated in registries but would be worked out in the contract between buyer and selller.

What will happen if there is a fire or disease outbreak on my property?

       Approaches for dealing with unforseen losses are not always explicitly stated.  In one case, however, an escrow type account is being used, where each participant in the registry has to place a percentage (e.g. 10%) of their available credits in the account and if a individual landowner suffers a loss this shared credits would be used to balance the C sequestration accounts.