Brown bag: Northwest Regional Bio-Carbon Initiative

Climate Solutions would like to invite you to a brown bag about the Northwest Regional Bio-Carbon Initiative, co-sponsored by the Urban Greenspaces Institute, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, and Parks and Recreation. This bio-carbon concept recognizes that reducing carbon emissions can be complemented by reducing carbon that is already in the atmosphere. Please join us to learn more about the Bio-Carbon Initiative and to offer your insight.

Northwest Regional Bio-Carbon Initiative Brownbag
March 9, 2010, noon-1:30pm
Portland Building Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97204
Free and open to the public; but RSVPs appreciated to plan for chairs

(Don't forget to bring your own lunch!)

Climate Solutions is researching opportunities to reduce atmospheric carbon by sequestering bio-carbon. Though we don’t yet have all the answers, our key questions are:

• What are the bio-sequestration opportunities in the Northwest?
• What is the potential impact on amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
• What is the potential impact on the global climate?
• Who might be involved? 
• How might this impact agriculture and land use planning?
• What are the business opportunities and financial implications?
• What policies and initiatives might promote bio-carbon sequestration?

Climate Solutions Strategic Innovations Director Rhys Roth and Research Director Patrick Mazza will present the background and concept for a prospective Northwest Regional Bio-carbon Initiative to make the Northwest a global model of biological carbon sequestration for climate stabilization, consistent with rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.  

With support from the Bullitt Foundation, the Northwest Regional Bio-Carbon Initiative is a new project by Climate Solutions, a regional nonprofit accelerating practical and profitable solutions to climate change. The Initiative seeks to identify policy and economic frameworks employing soils and vegetation to soak historic carbon emissions from the atmosphere to return carbon dioxide concentrations to the safe upper limit of 350 parts per million.  This is in contrast to offsetting schemes, which aim only to balance current emissions.  The Bio-Carob Initiative goal is a set of a broadly supported bio-carbon policies at local, state and federal levels that unite stakeholders and sectors including farm, forest and urban lands.  The project explores how public, private and nonprofit institutions in the Northwest can work together to build this globally significant initiative. This can include common development and advocacy for policy packages, public communications, and coordinated efforts to attract new resources to the region for research, development and deployment.  The March 9 presentation will include a briefing on policy and collaborative actions under consideration, as well as the science behind the 350ppm target.

Looking forward to hearing your ideas about the Northwest Bio-carbon Initiative.