Carbon Sequestration

| Press Release

New analysis: California’s working lands could absorb up from atmosphere equivalent of one-quarter of the state’s annual carbon emissions

Cattle Grazing Pasture

Santa Rosa, California, January 25, 2022 — A new report from California-based policy nonprofit The Climate Center finds that California’s working lands can sequester up to 100 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year. That’s far more than previously estimated and enough to absorb almost one-quarter of the state’s annual greenhouse … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Climate Targets
| Report

Setting an Ambitious Sequestration Goal for California’s Working Lands

Analysis and Recommendations for Net-Negative Emissions by 2030

Sheep grazing agriculture working lands sequestration

Every scenario in which we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris agreement, involves dramatically cutting emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere. Rather than rely on unproven technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) that prolong fossil fuel reliance and pollution, California can look to its millions of acres of cropland, … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Climate Targets Public Health
| Post

The Climate Center testimony in support of SB 27-Carbon Sequestration on Natural and Working Lands

Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water https://senv.senate.ca.gov/ Support SB27 Testimony April 27, 2021 Good morning, Chair Laird and members of the committee. My name is Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center. I am honored to testify in support of SB 27, which will set urgently needed state goals for carbon sequestration on natural … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

To weather the worsening drought, California needs healthy soils

By Ellie Cohen, The Climate Center, and Torri Estrada, Carbon Cycle Institute This opinion piece was originally published on February 11, 2021 in CalMatters. California is in the early stages of a severe multi-decadal drought, exacerbated by the climate crisis. As Dan Walters pointed out in his recent op ed, we must move quickly to prepare for water shortages and … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

Stockton-based PUENTES embraces climate action with 1,500 tree-planting effort

We’ve got a long way to go to reach net-negative emissions in California by 2030 and increase resilience for communities bearing the brunt of climate change, as outlined in The Climate Center’s Climate-Safe California campaign. One key goal is annually sequestering an additional 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. PUENTES, a local nonprofit organization … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

You can put a price tag on environmental and economic returns from protecting rangeland

by Karen Ross and Michael Delbar, Cal Matters Highlights New analysis from UC Berkeley found that 300,000 acres of protected rangeland can provide up to $1.4 billion a year in ecosystem benefits and that every dollar spent to protect working rangeland returned $3.43 on the investment in ecosystem benefits Managed grazing can help sequester carbon … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

Targeted ecosystem restoration can protect climate, biodiversity

by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News Highlights New research published in Nature shows that restoring wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands will help heal ecosystems and increase their ability to absorb greenhouse gases Protecting 30% of the priority areas identified in the study could save wildlife at the brink of extinction and would sequester about 465 billion … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

Rewild to mitigate the climate crisis, urge leading scientists

Wetlands

by Fiona Harvey, Grist Highlights According to a new study, restoration of Earth’s most degraded areas along with protections for areas still in good condition would help store an amount of carbon equivalent to half of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution Restoration and protection would prevent 70% of anticipated species extinctions … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
| Post

New Executive Order from Governor Newsom on biodiversity, climate and working lands: A step in the right direction

On Wednesday Governor Gavin Newsom issued a new Executive Order N-82-20 that is another step forward in combating climate change. The order establishes the goal of protecting 30% of California’s lands and waters by 2030 while also outlining some initial actions required to get there. The governor’s bold leadership is urgently needed as climate change worsens … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Climate Targets