British Columbia Forest Carbon Offset Protocol

The Province of British Columbia developed the Forest Carbon Offset Protocol (FCOP) for quantification of carbon offsets resulting from Improved Forest Management (IFM) and Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) actions within the province.  The protocol was designed to be consistent with the BC Emission Offsets Regulation, as well as ISO 14064.

As forest offset projects were developed, it became clear that there was capacity within British Columbia’s forests to undertake projects sequestering substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon, probably exceeding the demand for offsets in BC.  In order to catalyze these projects, access to offset markets outside of BC was required.  The Government of British Columbia therefore decided to undertake the adaptation of the BC FCOP to the international Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).

Brinkman Earth Systems was contracted to provide technical, drafting and validation expertise for the adaptation project.  The resulting validated protocol simultaneously meets the requirements of the VCS, while being consistent with the BC Emission Offsets Regulation.  Achieving this goal required complex alignment of concepts and definitions, as well as updating of some specific methods for carbon pools such as harvested wood products.