Estimation of Secondary Emissions from Forest Carbon Offset Projects

산림탄소상쇄 사업에 따른 이차적 배출량 산정에 관한 연구

For estimating a net removal of carbon dioxides from a forest carbon offset project, it is necessary to consider secondary emissions occurred from the use of machineries or vehicles. According to the forest carbon standard in Korea, a default rate (5%) could be applied for estimating secondary emissions of small projects, which provide annual net removals less than or equal to $600tCO_2$, while secondary emissions should be estimated for larger projects with field survey. In this study, we intended to develop a methodology for estimating the secondary emission of a forest carbon project. For this purpose, we analyzed the working process and the carbon emissions of the forest management activities for major tree species in Korea. Based on the developed methodology, we estimated the secondary carbon emission of a reforestation project. The result showed that the secondary carbon emission of a reforestation project was estimated between 0.42% and 1.19 % compared to net removals, that is to say that the current default rate in the forest carbon standard could give an overestimated secondary emission.