Carbon Market Contributions to Timberland Returns

Carbon Market Contributions to Timberland Returns

Friday, October 01, 2021 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm

October 1, 2021

Christie Pollet-Young, Elizabeth Willmott, Dick Kempka, Clark S. Binkley (Moderator)

The 2021 SJ Hall Lecture in Industrial Forestry will bring together a panel of carbon emission buyers, sellers and intermediaries for a moderated discussion about the ways in which carbon markets can contribute to timberland returns.  The panel will explore the motivations to enter the carbon-offset market, the challenges associated with developing carbon offset projects on timberland, successful and unsuccessful projects, and the controversies surrounding forest-based carbon offsets.

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Clark S. Binkley, a globally recognized expert on forest economics and timberland investments, and will welcome panelists from Microsoft, SCS Global and Molpus Woodlands Group.

For those planning to attend the SJ Hall Lecture, organizers recommend reviewing this white paper from Microsoft about lessons learned from an early carbon offset purchase, as well as Microsoft's Criteria for High Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal.

Carbon Market Contributions to Timberland Returns

Moderator and Panelists

Clark S. Binkley (Moderator), PhD., Managing Director at International Forestry Investment Advisors, LLC
Dr. Binkley has been involved in forestry investments on every continent except Antarctica.  His experience includes academic positions at Yale University and the University of British Columbia, and corporate positions with the Hancock Natural Resource Group, International Forestry Investment Advisors (a firm he founded) and GreenWood Resources, the timberland investment arm of TIAA-CREF/Nuveen Asset Management. Additionally, he has consulted to numerous forest products companies, governmental agencies and conservation groups. Dr. Binkley has written more than 100 books and articles on forest economics. He holds degrees in Applied Mathematics and in Engineering from Harvard University and in Forestry and Environmental Studies from Yale University.

Christie Pollet-Young (Panelist), Director of the GHG Verification Program at SCS Global
Christie Pollet-Young is the Director of an internationally-awarded carbon offset verification program, which has verified over 290 million tonnes of CO2-e around the globe. She has 25+ years of experience in forestry and carbon offset verification in both tropical and temperate climes. Ms. Pollet-Young previously worked for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Center for Tropical Forest Science and The Nature Conservancy in Peru. She holds a Master of Forest Science from Yale and a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley. She is a lead auditor with SCS and has participated in the verification of over 50 forest carbon offset projects around the globe.

Elizabeth Willmott (Panelist), Carbon Program Director at Microsoft
Elizabeth Willmott leads the carbon program for Microsoft, including the company’s carbon fee and commitment to carbon removal.  She joined Microsoft in 2016 after a decade of work in urban sustainability and climate action in the public and non-profit sectors to accelerate climate action and sustainability in the world’s urban areas, including co-authoring a World Bank guide for cities on how to prepare for climate change impacts. She holds a double degree in biology and Chinese language from Williams College and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School.

Dick Kempka (Panelist), Vice President – Conservation, Molpus Woodlands Group
Dick Kempka joined Molpus in 2017 and has over 25 years of executive experience in sustainability, carbon, timberland, grasslands, wetlands, mitigation, acquisitions and sales. He was formerly Chief Commercial Officer for The Climate Trust, VP of the Environment for Equator LLC, and Ecological Asset Program lead for Ducks Unlimited. He has over 20 professional publications and is an accomplished speaker who has participated in numerous professional environmental, carbon, and other industry forums. Dick received his B.S. in Geography and Remote Sensing from Carroll College in Wisconsin and his Master’s in Geography and Remote Sensing from Indiana State University.