Analyzing access to California’s regulatory forest offset market

Graduation Date

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Other

Program

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, Social Science: Environment and Community, 2015

Committee Chair Name

Erin Kelly

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Cap and trade, Climate policy, AB 32, Payment for ecosystem service, Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Environment and Community, Forest offsets

Abstract

Forest offset projects under the California cap-and-trade market offer the potential for landowners to engage in a new, non-traditional forest resource commodification, by monetizing the carbon sequestration of managed forests. Using frameworks of environmental governance, commodity chain analysis, and access theory, this study examines a) development of the forest offset protocol b) the steps and relationships involved in forest offset production and c) market participation trends from year-one operation. Interviews with protocol development stakeholders and forest offset project participants and content analysis of carbon project design documents are important sources of data. Results highlight the complexities of commodifying abstract ecosystem goods, including the ability of stakeholders to favor their own market participation via access to program design, the cost and complexity of rendering intangible goods "real" for market exchange, and the potential for diverse participants to access benefits from a new and unusual good. This research brings empirical evidence to bear on the global search for innovative policy tools for GHG reduction.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/tb09j798b

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