ARLINGTON, Va. and NEW ORLEANS, La., Jan. 18, 2012 – American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, announces an open public comment period for a first-of-its-kind carbon offset methodology that will both quantify how wetland restoration work can combat climate change and provide a way to help pay for rebuilding the Gulf of Mexico’s disappearing coastal wetland. The methodology, Restoration of Degraded Deltaic Wetlands of the Mississippi Delta, was funded by Entergy Corporation and developed by Dr. Sarah K. Mack of New Orleans-based Tierra Resources LLC, with contributions from Dr. Robert R. Lane, Dr. John W. Day and Tiffany M. Potter.

The new wetland offset methodology is unique not only because it is the first carbon offset methodology to target deltaic wetland restoration, but also because it uses a modular format, which provides flexibility for numerous types of wetland restoration techniques and facilitates methodology expansion. Another key innovation of the methodology is the incorporation of hydrologic management of nutrient-rich waters as a restoration technique, including options for diversion of river water into wetland, introduction of nonpoint source runoff into wetlands and discharge of treated municipal effluent into wetlands. Avoided loss and afforestation are also included wetland restoration techniques.

The primary hurdle to implement Mississippi Delta restoration is the price tag, estimated between $10 billion for near-term restoration to $150 billion for broader restoration and protection measures. Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast recently estimated that between $20 billion and $50 billion will realistically be available for funding over the next 50 years, but acknowledged a budget up to five times that size could be needed. Under the new methodology, carbon credits created by restoring wetlands can be registered and sold to help finance additional wetland restoration, Dr. Mack said.

“This methodology offers the first route-to-market for wetland restoration carbon offsets, providing critical funding for restoring coastal Louisiana, which suffers one of the fastest rates of wetland loss in the world,” said Mack. “Tierra Resources is dedicated to restoring coastal ecosystems and is thrilled to be blazing the trail in the blue carbon space by developing the methodology and wetland restoration projects that will follow.”

Entergy Corporation, based in New Orleans with operations in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that have coastal wetlands, funded the methodology development.

“Entergy recognizes the value of coastal wetlands as a first line of defense against storm surge and flooding,” said Gary Serio, vice president, safety & environment for Entergy.  “Wetland restoration affects more than just our service area, but the rest of the country as well. There is obvious economic impact to infrastructure due to coastal erosion and flooding. In addition, loss of wetlands result in a reduction in the ability to absorb carbon emissions, which has both environmental and economic impact. Not only will wetland restoration reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve ecosystems, but there is positive economic impact from preserving infrastructure as well as by creating local jobs to rebuild and maintain the wetland projects.”

A landmark study recently published by Restore America’s Estuaries, “Jobs & Dollars: Big Returns from Coastal Habitat Restoration,” confirms that investments in coastal habitat restoration produce jobs at a higher rate than many other sectors — including oil & gas, road infrastructure and green building retrofit projects.  This study coincides with further efforts by Entergy to explore solutions to the environmental and economic impacts facing coastal wetland. In an open dialog to address mitigation of coastal stressors such as hurricanes, coastal erosion and rising sea levels, Entergy’s 2010 study “Building a Resilient Energy Gulf Coast,” produced in cooperation with America’s Energy Coast and America’s Wetland Foundation, presents a picture of what the Gulf coast will look like environmentally as well as economically by the year 2030 if no mitigation or remediation activity is undertaken.

Louisiana boasts 40 percent of the country’s coastal wetland – more than 4 million acres. Of total U.S. coastal wetland loss, 80 percent has occurred in the Mississippi Delta. An estimated 90 percent of current loss occurs in Louisiana — the equivalent of losing one football field of wetlands every hour. The loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands has major national environmental and economic implications. Not only is the Mississippi Delta one of the world’s most unique and diverse ecosystems, but its wetlands and waterways contribute tens of billions of dollars to the national economy every year and support millions of jobs. Much of the U.S. depends on sustaining the navigation, flood control, energy production, and seafood production functions of the Mississippi Delta and river system. Each of those functions is currently at severe risk due to coastal wetland loss.

As a first step toward achieving the massive global GHG mitigation potential from wetland restoration, the methodology is expected to be expanded in the future for wetland restoration in other regions and other wetland restoration practices. The ACR approval process for the methodology, which includes public comment and scientific peer review, is targeted to be complete this spring.

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About the American Carbon Registry

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity. Founded in 1996 as the first private voluntary registry in the world, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting. ACR has set the bar for transparency and integrity that is the market standard today and continues to lead carbon market innovation.

About Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

About Tierra Resources

Based in New Orleans, La., Tierra Resources was founded in 2007 with a mission to conserve, protect, and restore coastal wetland ecosystems by creating innovative solutions that support investment into blue carbon. Tierra Resources is nationally recognized innovator in the research, development, and monetization of blue carbon contained in coastal wetland ecosystems, such as estuaries, mangroves, and salt marshes. Tierra Resources’ services enable landowners, corporations, nonprofits, and government clients to understand the regulatory, financial, and scientific landscape to preserve and restore wetlands and monetize wetland offsets.

Contact:

Mary Grady, American Carbon Registry Tel: (805) 884-1961 Email: mgrady@winrock.org

Mike Burns, Entergy Corporation Tel: (504) 576-4238 Email: mburns@entergy.com

Sarah Mack, Tierra Resources Tel: (504) 339-4547 Email: sarahmack@tierraresourcesllc.com

Dear friends and colleagues,

For the first time in 60 years, we welcome in the Year of the Water Dragon, which brings the promise of creative ideas flowing like water, good fortune and momentous changes. New ideas and good fortune cannot come a moment too soon. We will need leadership from the resolute as the increasingly clear evidence of climate change challenges public and private institutions to respond.

We saw the first harbinger of change with the confirmation of California’s commitment to launch the first U.S. economy-wide cap and trade program in 2012. And in Durban, the unexpected was achieved as the world’s three largest emitters – China, the United States and India – joined the rest of the world and agreed for the first time to negotiate a legally binding commitment for emission reductions.

During 2011, we at the American Carbon Registry (ACR) remained steadfast in our commitment to demonstrate the value of market-based approaches to accelerate meaningful emission reduction actions.

For the California market, we continued our efforts to develop and test new, innovative carbon offset methodologies, several of which are being considered for adoption by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Through collaborations that put the methodologies to work on the ground, we hope to demonstrate both rigor and usability. As one such example, ACR is collaborating with the California Farm Bureau Federation and the Environmental Defense Fund to pilot the ACR Fertilizer Management methodology with tomato producers in California.

Also in California, ARB announced its plans to tap the experience and innovation of the voluntary carbon market to help build and implement its offset program. We look forward to applying and anticipate being approved by the ARB in 2012 as an Offset Project Registry, helping to administer the California offset program through registration of projects developed using ARB-adopted compliance protocols.

On the methodology front, ACR approved its first REDD methodology as well as a methodology for Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Family Forestlands, which will be used to generate offsets for the Pinchot Institute’s Forest Health–Human Health Initiative.

We initiated the approval process for six new methodologies, expected to be adopted in 2012, including REDD+ modules, emission reductions in rice production, truck stop electrification, fertilizer rate reduction and wetlands restoration in addition to requirements for REDD+ projects nested within a jurisdictional framework. Other methodologies in development for approval in 2012 include Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Tribal Lands and several innovative approaches to reducing emissions associated with the beef and dairy sectors.

Our special interest in emission reductions in the land use and forest sectors led to the registration of seven new high quality afforestation / reforestation (A/R) projects in the U.S., Brazil and Madagascar. These projects include a new phase of GreenTrees through an investment by Norfolk Southern and a National Forest Foundation project, which will retire tons for Chevrolet.

Despite overall market conditions in 2011, it was a good year for ACR. We reached the milestone of issuance of over 30 million tons and registration of trades and retirements of close to 12 million tons in projects spanning 40 U.S. states and three continents. Of the 2.9 million ACR tons sold, retired or contracted in 2011, the average price per ton was $5.51, with a price range from under $1 to $14/ton, based on project type, volume and vintage.

Environmental Finance honored us with the award of runner-up “Best Registry Provider” in their global 2010 Voluntary Carbon Market Survey, based on efficiency and speed of transactions, reliability, innovation, quality of service provided and influence on the market.

In addition, ACR was recognized by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) as an approved ICROA carbon offsetting standard. ICROA companies are required to use offsets developed under approved standards to ensure offset quality.

And we launched our ACR Advisory Council, the esteemed members of which are helping to guide ACR to achieving our mission of harnessing the power of markets to improve the environment.

As we enter the New Year, we remind ourselves why Winrock runs a carbon offset registry. Winrock believes that climate change will have real and profound impacts on the poorest populations and the most fragile ecosystems around the world, and that markets are the most effective path to mobilize actions to reduce emissions.

As a Winrock enterprise, ACR’s role is to enhance confidence in the scientific and environmental integrity of offsets and to find innovative ways to achieve development goals with fewer emissions. We are also developing approaches to quantify health benefits, improvements in water quality, reductions in poverty and protection of biodiversity.

We are optimistic. We are excited to continue to work with ACR members, partners and supporters. We are humbled by the magnitude of the undertaking.

We look forward to the flow of ideas, the good fortune and the spectacular successes that the Year of the Water Dragon will bring for carbon markets.

Regards,

John Kadyszewski

ARLINGTON, Va., October 5, 2011 – The American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, announces approval of an Improved Forest Management (IFM) Methodology for Quantifying Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Removals and Emission Reductions through Increased Forest Carbon Sequestration on Non–Federal U.S. Forestlands. The methodology, developed by Columbia Carbon LLC, a subsidiary of CE2 Carbon Capital in partnership with L&C Carbon, targets non-federally owned forestlands in the United States. Eligible lands include 495 million acres – 66 percent of all U.S. forestlands.

The new methodology delivers enormous potential for family forest owners who manage 264 million acres, or 35 percent, of all U.S. forestland. No family forests are currently registered and verified under any of the leading registry standards in the U.S. The lack of family forest offset projects is due to the fact that existing published IFM methodologies are either not applicable or not practical for this significant category of private forest owners, who own more forest land than the federal government. The new methodology provides important access to the carbon market to help slow the conversion of private forests to other uses. The USDA Forest Service estimates that from 20002030, more than 57 million acres of private forestland could be affected by development. State and local forest lands are also eligible under the methodology as are tribal lands, except those managed or administered by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The tribal lands eligibility will be expanded to U.S. tribal lands under BIA in a forthcoming ACR methodology.

“The Columbia Carbon IFM methodology offers a significant opportunity for families owning woodlands to be rewarded for growing trees and storing greater amounts of carbon on their property,” stated David Ford, president and CEO of L&C Carbon. “And access to carbon markets for non-federal public lands provides an incentive for these owners to finance emissions reduction projects. We found ACR’s team to be professional and efficient, and its process to be thorough and scientifically demanding. The end result is a methodology that addresses the economic realities of a wide range of land owners, while achieving high environmental standards.” 

“The opportunity to generate some annual income by storing more carbon on my land is very attractive,” said Ed Cummings, a small woodland owner near Eugene, Ore. “My family wants to be able to pass on our sustainably managed woodlands to the next generation and selling carbon from our lands will help us meet our goal.”

To qualify for registration, lands must be subject to commercial timber harvesting activities under a forest management plan, and landowners must make a long-term commitment to manage their properties to sequester carbon above and beyond what would normally occur under the owner’s baseline forest management practices. In addition, the methodology requires certification by American Tree Farm System® (ATFS), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for private, NGO and public lands. Alternatively, public lands can provide a government-sanctioned forest management plan, updated at a minimum of every 10 years.

“We are excited to announce approval of the Columbia Carbon IFM methodology,” said Nicholas Martin, ACR’s chief technical officer. “It fills an important gap, providing a foundation for a new class of forest carbon market participants. We expect the resulting offset projects to be very popular in the voluntary market, where buyers favor high quality carbon offsets with a compelling story, such as those that manage, protect and replant forests.”

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About the American Carbon Registry 

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity.  Founded in 1996 as the first private voluntary registry in the world, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting.

About Columbia Carbon, LLC 

Columbia Carbon is a joint project between L&C Carbon LLC and CE2 Carbon Capital focused on developing forest carbon projects in the United States. The partners have an extensive background in carbon project development, marketing and carbon credit monetization.

About L&C Carbon LLC

L&C Carbon is a forest carbon project development company based in Salem, Ore.  Founded in 2010, its initial focus is on developing forest carbon projects within the United States. L&C Carbon works to connect landowners with a carbon program that is consistent with their values and forest management objectives. It strives to develop long-term partnerships with landowners and organizations rather than executing one-off carbon projects. L&C Carbon’s longer-term vision is to develop diverse income streams for landowners from a range of ecosystem services.

About CE2 Carbon Capital, LLC

Formed in 2008 by CE2 Capital Partners and Energy Capital Partners, CE2 Carbon Capital, LLC is a company dedicated to building a portfolio of carbon offsets and other assets focused on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in North America.  

Contact:

Mary Grady, American Carbon Registry Tel:  (805) 884-1961 Email:  mgrady@winrock.org

David Ford, L&C Carbon LLC Tel: (503) 345-9777 Email: davidford27@gmail.com

LONDON and ARLINGTON, Va., July 21, 2011 – The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) announces today its recognition of American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, as an approved ICROA carbon offsetting standard.

The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) has become synonymous with best practice in the voluntary carbon market and all members only use offsets verified under the most widely respected compliance and voluntary standards. ICROA companies follow a code of best practice that provides confidence that resulting offsets are real, verified, permanent, additional and unique and that sets guidelines for how such offsets are sold.

ICROA’s selection of approved offset standards includes the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation, Carbon Fix, the Climate Action Reserve, the Gold Standard, the Verified Carbon Standard, and now the American Carbon Registry.

“ICROA has approved ACR as a standard because the offset methodologies and practices for verification meet our strict criteria,” said ICROA Co-Chair Edward Hanrahan. “ACR’s innovative methodologies in sectors such as agriculture and forestry will diversify offset sourcing options for ICROA clients while continuing to provide essential confidence in offset quality.”   

“As the first voluntary carbon registry in the world, ACR has a 15-year history of working with carbon market pioneers such as ICROA member companies” says Mary Grady, ACR director of business development. “The ACR team is proud to be recognized by ICROA for the environmental integrity of our standard and the quality of ACR-registered offset projects. We look forward to working with ICROA to expand carbon market activity in the U.S. and internationally through innovative, large-scale emissions reduction offset projects as well as increased developing country market access and participation.”  

ICROA’s support of robust standards for the voluntary offset market is critical: Member firms currently provide carbon offset and management services to thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals. This scope of influence is expected to broaden considerably after last month’s announcement of ICROA’s integration into the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). The move will widen the number of businesses operating to best practice in the voluntary space as demonstrated by complying with the ICROA code.

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Press Contact Details: 

ICROA Spokesperson: Edward Hanrahan, ClimateCare  Tel: +44 (0) 7900 566 210 edward.hanrahan@jpmorganclimatecare.com

ICROA Programme Manager Sophy Greenhalgh Tel: +44 (0) 7967 428 247 sgreenhalgh@icroa.org

ACR Spokesperson: Mary Grady Tel: +1 805 884 1961 mgrady@winrock.org

Notes to Editors: 

About ICROA 

The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading carbon reduction and offset providers that provides leadership and a unified voice advocating for rigorous industry standards for the voluntary carbon market. ICROA members support a reduce-and-offset approach to carbon management, and they all comply with the ICROA Code of Best Practice. The Code gives consumers confidence that companies are operating to robust procedures and that implemented carbon strategies are credible and emissions reductions are real, measureable, permanent, and independently verified – a step to the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ICROA members include Carbon Clear, ClimateCare, ClimaCount, Climate Friendly, Climate Neutral Group, co2balance, EcoAct, First Climate, targetneutral and The CarbonNeutral Company.

About IETA

The International Emission Trading Association (IETA) has been the leading voice of the business community on the subject of carbon markets since 2000. IETA’s 160 member companies include some of the world’s leading corporations, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminum, chemical, paper, and other industrial sectors; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal, finance, and consulting industries.

About the American Carbon Registry

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity.  Founded in 1996 as the GHG Registry by Environmental Resources Trust, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting. As the first private voluntary GHG registry in the world, ACR has worked to set the bar for offset quality and operational transparency and continues to lead voluntary carbon market innovation.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 13, 2011 – American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, announces an open public comment period for Emission Reductions in Rice Management Systems, initiating the ACR approval process for the first-of-a-kind carbon offset methodology to quantify greenhouse gas reductions from rice production. The methodology was developed by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in partnership with the California Rice Commission (CRC), Applied Geosolutions, LLC, and Terra Global Capital LLC.

California’s cap-and-trade program is scheduled to launch in 2012, and the California Air Resources Board has expressed interest in adopting compliance offset protocols that will benefit the California agriculture sector. With this in mind, the EDF team developed the rice methodology with a specific focus on practice changes that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) from rice production in California.

The ACR approval process for the methodology, which includes public comment and scientific peer review, is expected to be complete this summer. In parallel, through a recently announced USDA Conservation Innovation Grant, EDF intends to expand the methodology for additional practice changes applicable in Arkansas and other rice producing states in the Mid-South.

“The methodology is a first step towards achieving the global mitigation potential for rice,” said Belinda Morris, California regional director of EDF’s Center for Conservation Incentives. “In the future, expanding the methodology to include other practices and other geographies could provide incentives for substantial GHG emissions reductions from rice production.[1]”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s national GHG inventory for 2010, the top two rice producing states, Arkansas and California, are responsible for over half of U.S. emissions from rice production. If measured, practice changes in water management, such as reduced flooding and altered drainage timing, provide a large mitigation opportunity to reduce methane emissions in rice production. However, calculating emission reductions from rice production is complex since different environmental factors such as soil type, temperature and water regime affect rice emissions.

Like the ACR Methodology for N2O Emission Reductions through Changes in Fertilizer Management, the rice methodology responds to this challenge by incorporating the use of the Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC) model – a peer-reviewed, tested and highly parameterized model – to produce the rigorous, science-based results necessary to create compliance-quality GHG emissions offsets.

Applied Geosolutions, LLC calibrated and validated the DNDC model for rice using field measurements. The EDF team worked together to identify measurable management practices that reduce GHG emissions without affecting yields and to assess mitigation potential in California. Terra Global Capital led the methodology development.

“Consistent with our parent Winrock’s commitment to sustainable agriculture, ACR is focused on strengthening the scientific and market infrastructure for agricultural GHG mitigation,” said Nicholas Martin, ACR chief technical officer. “Following last year’s publication of an innovative ACR fertilizer management methodology, we are excited to initiate the ACR approval process for EDF’s rice sector methodology. Once approved, we think this will provide a critical tool for rice growers in California to enhance competitiveness by producing offsets for voluntary offset buyers and hopefully the California compliance market. We’re also excited by the possibility of expanding this methodology to the Mid-South including Arkansas, Winrock’s home state and the country’s leading rice producer.”  

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About the American Carbon Registry

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity.  Founded in 1996 as the GHG Registry by Environmental Resources Trust, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting. As the first private voluntary GHG registry in the world, ACR has set the bar for offset quality and operational transparency and continues to lead carbon market innovation. www.americancarbonregistry.org

Contact:

Mary Grady American Carbon Registry 805 884 1961  mgrady@winrock.org

[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates global GHG emissions from rice production to be between 650 million metric tons and 2.4 billion metric tons CO2e per year. Studies estimate potential emissions reductions from practices changes to be up to 50 percent.

SYDNEY; LONDON; ARLINGTON, Va. (Jan. 10, 2011) — The Carbon Trade Exchange and Winrock International’s American Carbon Registry announced a new partnership today that demonstrates a commitment to take voluntary carbon offset trading to a new level.

Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX), the world’s first web-based electronic platform for spot trading of voluntary carbon credits, and the American Carbon Registry (ACR), the first U.S. carbon offset standard organization and project registry, will interface to trade ACR’s entire range of diverse credits. Once technical interface is complete by the end of January, ACR’s premium credits can be traded electronically around the globe. The listing of ACR credits will provide broader options and market access to buyers and sellers via CTX’s unique web-based trading platform, on which credits are also offered from Gold Standard and Voluntary Carbon Standard.

Agreed to on the sidelines of COP16 in Cancun and signed on New Year’s Eve, the deal between the two organizations proves their mutual commitment to making 2011 the year voluntary carbon offset trading grows to record levels. By working together to build the market, CTX and ACR are demonstrating that business is taking the initiative to combat climate change and spur innovation in the carbon market.

“To achieve the emissions reductions we need to avoid catastrophic climate change, we need global technology that any business can use easily, and quality offsets that remove any doubt of the process,” said Wayne Sharpe, CEO of Carbon Trade Exchange. “A carbon credit is a financial mechanism to move money from those creating the problem to those solving it. American Carbon Registry has led the way in science-based offset certification and registration in North America long before many others. We are proud to interface with a U.S. carbon icon.”

“We are extremely excited to partner with Carbon Trade Exchange to offer ACR-registered carbon offsets to the global market,” commented Mary Grady, ACR director of marketing. “Carbon finance is essential to stimulate wide-scale development of emissions reduction projects. Providing an exchange option will boost voluntary carbon market participation beyond over-the-counter trading and increase market transparency and liquidity. The partnership demonstrates ACR’s mission of harnessing the power of markets to protect the environment.”

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About Carbon Trade Exchange

Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX) is the world’s first truly global electronic platform for spot trading of the world’s leading voluntary carbon credits. CTX aims to provide a trusted marketplace where businesses can buy emissions commodities with confidence in the quality and origin of the products being sold. The CTX platform allows buyers to search for credits based on vintage, credit standard, project type and country of origin. The existence of CTX will make it easier and cheaper for companies to offset as an effective means of going carbon neutral. It provides one easy interface on which to buy credits and track prices, helping to mainstream the voluntary market by enabling developers to have a clearer price signal to make investment decisions and giving buyers greater confidence and choice.

CTX operates from offices in London, Australia and New York and has a dynamic and highly experienced management team supported by a global board of directors, led by founder and CEO, Wayne Sharpe.  Sharpe’s passionate commitment to combating global warming led to the conception and development of the CTX model, using 20 years of knowledge and experience gained by building Bartercard into the world’s largest credit unit exchange: 110 offices worldwide with over $25 billion traded.

About the American Carbon Registry 

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity.  Founded in 1996 as the GHG Registry by Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Resources Trust, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset standards and methodologies, as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting. As the first private voluntary GHG registry in the world, ACR has set the bar in the global voluntary carbon market for offset quality and operational transparency. www.americancarbonregistry.org

Contacts:

Wayne Sharpe, Carbon Trade Exchange, +61 412 147 697 or +44 79 0997 5488 or wayne.sharpe@carbontradexchange.com

Mary Grady, American Carbon Registry, + 1 805 884 1961 or mgrady@winrock.org

Nick Mann, Complete Media Group, +44 20 7420 3550 or nick@completemediagroup.co.uk

ARLINGTON, VA, November 23, 2010 – The American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International (Winrock), announces approval of a pioneering greenhouse gas (GHG) offset methodology to quantify agriculture sector emissions reductions through changes in fertilizer management. The methodology was developed by Winrock under a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Nitrogen fertilizers represent one of the largest sources of GHG emissions from global agricultural production resulting in significant emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG with approximately 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO2). In the U.S. alone, annual N2O emissions from agricultural soil management were approximately 216 million metric tons carbon dioxide-equivalent according to the 2008 U.S. National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Fertilizers have also been a key factor in the increased yields achieved by modern agriculture. Optimizing fertilizer management practices without reducing yields is therefore an effective way to reduce N2O emissions and to improve water quality in agricultural areas.

The new ACR fertilizer management methodology incorporates site specific data into a peerreviewed, tested and highly parameterized model to calculate N2O emissions reductions that result from changes in how fertilizer is applied and used. The innovative approach takes into account multiple, simultaneous practice changes and produces the rigorous, science-based results necessary to create compliance-quality offsets.

“Given the need for offsets from fertilizer management to be fungible with offsets from landfill gas or any number of other sectors in which emissions can be directly measured with a high degree of accuracy, it is critical that methodologies for quantification of emissions from N2O result in high degree of certainty and confidence,” explains Dr. Timothy Pearson of Winrock, coauthor of the methodology with William Salas of Applied Geosolutions LLC.

ACR’s objective in developing this methodology was to create an accounting framework that offers both credibility and integrity for reducing atmospheric emissions from agricultural applications. Direct field measurements of N2O emissions are prohibitively costly, and the use of default values cannot capture variation in emissions associated with weather conditions and site-specific factors.

As a cost-effective solution to achieve precise results, the ACR methodology uses the Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC) model to quantify direct N2O emissions as well as indirect emissions from leaching and ammonia volatilization. The approach is applicable not only to changes in fertilizer quantity (rate), but also fertilizer type, placement, timing, use of timedrelease fertilizers, use of nitrification inhibitors and other practice changes.

“The approach recognizes that to avoid leakage, maintain food supplies, and promote broad adoption by farmers, fertilizer management activities must be designed to minimize the risk of decreasing yields,” comments Nicholas Martin, American Carbon Registry chief technical officer. “A methodology that enables willing farmers to reduce fertilizer rate, but allows for other practice changes as well, stands better chances of broad adoption.”

The fertilizer management methodology is the culmination of two years of rigorous scientific and applied research, including field trials on different crops in California, Iowa and Arkansas. The methodology was approved by ACR following extensive stakeholder consultation, a formal public comment period, and independent anonymous peer review by four of the United States’ leading experts in nitrogen management and agricultural GHG mitigation.

The ACR methodology builds on the trend toward aggregation in carbon markets, particularly in agriculture. Increasingly farmers interface with carbon markets not as individuals but through aggregators grouping tens or even hundreds of farms together. In this case, aggregation is important not only for transaction cost efficiencies, but also for improving modeling results and diversifying risk.

“SunOne is very pleased to see the release of this pioneering agriculture methodology by ACR,” remarked John Hodges, president of North America’s #1 ranked carbon aggregator SunOne Solutions. ”We have already seen a lot of interest from our farming clients in this new opportunity since until now, farmers could only participate in the carbon markets by adopting sustainable tillage practices. ACR’s fertilizer management methodology expands possibilities since it is applicable to many widely grown and specialty crops. It provides additional incentivizes for farmers to adopt more sustainable fertilizer management systems, which will further help the environment while providing added revenue sources to producers.”

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About the American Carbon Registry 

The nonprofit American Carbon Registry (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity.  Founded in 1996 as the GHG Registry by Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Resources Trust, ACR has 15 years of experience in the development of rigorous, sciencebased carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent online transaction and retirement reporting. As the first private voluntary GHG registry in the world, ACR has set the bar in the global voluntary carbon market for offset quality and operational transparency. www.americancarbonregistry.org

About Winrock International

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. Winrock is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. www.winrock.org.

Contact:

Mary Grady, American Carbon Registry Tel:  (805) 884-1961 Email:  mgrady@winrock.org

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Elizabeth Neiman (212) 642-4911 eneiman@ansi.org

Washington, DC, August 12, 2010:   As part of its continuing commitment to enhance the accreditation program for greenhouse gas (GHG) validation and/or verification bodies (V/VBs), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American Carbon Registry (ACR).

Non-profit ACR, the first voluntary carbon offset program in the U.S. and now in its fifteenth year of operation, focuses on environmental integrity and transparency in standards and reporting. The organization develops sciencebased carbon offset standards and methodologies and provides an electronic registry system for members to record the purchase, sale, and retirement of project-based offsets.

ANSI is coordinator of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system and administrator of an accreditation program for third-party bodies working to validate and verify GHG emission assertions for a broad spectrum of industries. Seventeen V/VBs have been accredited under the program to date.

Through the MoU, ACR and ANSI pledge to cooperate in the ANSI accreditation program for GHG V/VBs. This program evaluates conformance of V/VBs against ISO 14065, Greenhouse gases – Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation or other forms of recognition. Organizations seeking to provide validation and/or verification for ACR projects will be required to attain accreditation by ANSI. In addition, these organizations will be assessed against additional requirements as specified by ACR.

“ANSI is proud to partner with the American Carbon Registry on this important initiative,” said Lane Hallenbeck, vice president of accreditation services for ANSI. “The rapid growth of ANSI’s greenhouse gas accreditation program is evidence of the recognition by organizations nationwide of the importance of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and the value that ANSI accreditation brings to the process.”

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

About ACR 

The American Carbon Registry (ACR) is a leading voluntary offset program with strong standards for environmental integrity and over a decade of experience in the development of high quality carbon offset standards and methodologies as well as operational experience in carbon offset issuance, serialization and transparent on-line transaction reporting.

Founded by Environmental Defense Fund and Environmental Resources Trust in 1996 as the GHG Registry, ACR has issued over 30 million project-based carbon offsets, setting the bar for transparency and integrity that is the market standard today. ACR joined Winrock International in 2007.

Contacts: 

ANSI Ann Bowles 202.331.3620 abowles@ansi.org

American Carbon Registry Mary Grady 805.884.1961 mgrady@winrock.org

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