Canada - CPC Calls for Carbon Credit Trading System and Associated Rules and Protocols
Published:February 2, 2005
Source :Manitoba Pork Council
The Canadian Pork Council says Canada needs an internationally recognized carbon credit trading system and the federal regulations that will make it work to encourage the adoption of new environmental technologies on the farm.
As part of its Kyoto commitment, Canada is striving to encourage reduced greenhouse gas emissions and is in the process of developing a structure that will allow those who do so to be rewarded financially.
CPC Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program Coordinator Cedric MacLeod says there are already technologies available that will allow farmers to improve the efficiency of their manure management while reducing odor and greenhouse gas emissions, but the economics of these technologies are often difficult to justify.
"I think there's a lot of technology providers out there with a lot of good options and a lot of good ideas on how we can further process manure nutrients. A lot of them are very close, just under that break even line.
Carbon credit opportunities may give that last push to go over the hill and all of a sudden that treatment technology that you couldn't justify previously, you're going to be paid for those carbon credits, and it's going to push it over the top and you're going to be paid for that good environmental management.
We've been working on this for awhile. The industry is poised to move forward. We've got some opportunities to contribute to a carbon credit trading system but we're really being held back by the federal systems.
We need involvement, we need to know what's happening, we need better communication and we really need to move this forward because Kyoto compliance is looming.
If we want agriculture to play a role then we're going to have to move quickly."
MacLeod says the efficiency improvements offered by these new environmental technologies offer their own dividends and greenhouse gas emission and odor reduction is an added bonus.
He says what we need is a carbon credit trading system and the rules and protocols associated with that system to allow producers to move forward and start to trade carbon.
