美国国家公共电台 NPR--2 groups plan to focus on carbon credits from urban forests

2 groups plan to focus on carbon credits from urban forests

Transcript¹

A Seattle nonprofit recently got some of the highest prices ever for carbon credits from urban forests. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Oct. 4, 2022.)

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

We know trees can help with climate change. That's because a forest sucks carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And that can be sold as a carbon credit to companies looking to offset² their environmental impact. But the way those credits are calculated has long been scrutinized³. And two groups want to put focus on urban forests. Bellamy Pailthorp of member station KNKX explains.

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BELLAMY PAILTHORP, BYLINE⁴: This is the sound of carbon credits being made at an urban forest north of Seattle.

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PAILTHORP: The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust recently cleared out 2 1/2 acres of invasive weeds here and planted nearly 2,000 trees. Restoration projects manager Dan Hintz is grinning ear to ear as he looks up at a fast-growing black cottonwood, admiring how it soaks up carbon pollution.

DAN HINTZ: You can kind of see some of those really, really big leaves at the top of the tree there that are just soaking up sunlight, you know, going through the photosynthesis⁵ process and, through that, taking a lot of carbon dioxide out of the air.

PAILTHORP: The project is similar to many the group has done over the years, but this one is certified⁶ by a carbon registry for the service the new trees are providing, removing carbon from the atmosphere over the next 25 years.

HINTZ: A lot of the project funding you get for sites like this, you know, is maybe only for three or four years. But to have these credits coming in over a handful of years throughout that 25-year process will generate revenue for us to continue to maintain and take care of the site.

PAILTHORP: He has to monitor it and provide data to earn those credits over the life of the contract. A certain number of trees is expected to die. If the rest grow well, the value of the credits goes up, and their sales fund the conservation work. A Seattle-based nonprofit called City Forest Credits is the registry that calculated how much carbon is absorbed here. While the bigger registries tend to capitalize on large rural projects, City Forest Credits focuses exclusively on smaller urban forestry⁷ projects. Mark McPherson is the founder⁸ and executive director.

MARK MCPHERSON: Unlike almost every other kind of carbon credit, these are credits that have a community impact. I mean, these are right where people live and breathe, recreate, work. And there's a place for a smaller volume, really valuable and hopefully higher-priced credit.

PAILTHORP: That vision was realized in June, when the credits for this growing forest and 12 other projects fetched some of the highest prices ever for carbon capture. A company called Regen Network Development paid more than a million dollars to buy up all of the City Forest Credits available. That was nearly double the going rate for rural forest carbon credits.

Regen is a blockchain company. It uses decentralized computer networks to provide permanent records that can't be altered. Carbon markets have been rife⁹ with questions about accountability. Regen's founders¹⁰ think blockchain technology can create more trust. They're building a new marketplace focused on smaller projects like urban forests. Anyone with questions about the credits can find the answers, says the company's Sarah Baxendell.

SARAH BAXENDELL: All of the credit information, the science methodology information, is both transparent¹¹ and publicly available because all blockchain information is a permanent public record of anything that is added on to a blockchain.

PAILTHORP: How much value they've added will become clear once the new Regen Marketplace launches around October 10.

For NPR News, I'm Bellamy Pailthorp in Seattle.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

3 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

10 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

11 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。