S 769 IS

To establish a carbon sequestration program and an implementing panel within the Department of Commerce to enhance international conservation, to promote the role of carbon sequestration as a means of slowing the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and to reward and encourage voluntary, pro-active environmental efforts on the issue of global climate change.

To establish a carbon sequestration program and an implementing panel within the Department of Commerce to enhance international conservation, to promote the role of carbon sequestration as a means of slowing the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and to reward and encourage voluntary, pro-active environmental efforts on the issue of global climate change.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `International Carbon Conservation Act'.

SEC. 2. CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROGRAM.

(a) CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROGRAM- Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the implementing panel shall establish a carbon sequestration program to permit project sponsors to make carbon sequestration project proposals to the implementing panel.

(b) IMPLEMENTING PANEL- There is established within the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce an implementing panel consisting of--

(1) the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology,

(2) the Secretary of Agriculture,

(3) the Secretary of State,

(4) the Secretary of Energy,

(5) the Chief of the Forest Service, and

(6) representatives of nongovernmental organizations who have an expertise and experience in carbon sequestration practices, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Chief of the Forest Service shall act as chairperson of the implementing panel.

(c) CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROJECT- For purposes of this section--

(1) IN GENERAL- The term `carbon sequestration project' means a project--

(A) which is located outside the United States,

(B) the duration of which is not less than 30 years,

(C) which is designed to increase the sequestration of carbon, and

(D) which is accepted by the implementing panel under the carbon sequestration program.

(2) ACCEPTANCE OF PROJECT PROPOSALS-

(A) IN GENERAL- Under the carbon sequestration program, the implementing panel shall accept a proposal for a carbon sequestration project from a project sponsor only if--

(i) the proposal includes a needs assessment described in subparagraph (B),

(ii) the proposal identifies the benefits of carbon sequestration practices of the sponsored project under criteria developed to evaluate such benefits under subsection (d) and under guidelines instituted to quantify such benefits under subsection (e) and includes an agreement by the sponsor to carry out such practices as described in subparagraph (C), and

(iii) the proposal includes an agreement to provide verification of compliance with an approved project as described in subparagraph (D) under standards established under subsection (f).

(B) NEEDS ASSESSMENT- A needs assessment described in this subparagraph is an assessment of the need for the carbon sequestration project described in a proposal and the ability of the project sponsor to carry out the carbon sequestration practices related to such project. The assessment shall be developed by the project sponsor, in cooperation with the Agency for International Development, nongovernmental organizations, and independent third-party verifiers.

(C) CARBON SEQUESTRATION PRACTICES- Under a carbon sequestration project proposal, the project sponsor shall agree to contract with other entities, including organizations based in the country in which the sponsored carbon sequestration project is located, to carry out carbon sequestration practices proposed by the project sponsor which (as determined by the implementing panel)--

(i) provide for additional carbon sequestration beyond that which would be provided in the absence of such project, and

(ii) contribute to a positive reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through carbon sequestration over at least a 30-year period.

(D) VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH APPROVED CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROJECT- Under a carbon sequestration project proposal, the project sponsor shall agree to provide the implementing panel with verification through a third party that such project is sequestering carbon in accordance with the proposal approved by the implementing panel, including an annual audit of the project, an actual verification of the practices at the project site every 5 years, and such random inspections as are necessary.

(d) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING BENEFITS OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION PRACTICES-

(1) IN GENERAL- Under the carbon sequestration program the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other members of the implementing

(2) CONTENT- The criteria shall ensure that carbon sequestration investment credits under section 45E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are not allocated to projects the primary purpose of which is to grow timber for commercial harvest or to projects which replace native ecological systems with commercial timber plantations. Projects should be prioritized according to--

(A) native forest preservation, especially with respect to land which would otherwise cease to be native forest land,

(B) reforestation of former forest land where such land has not been forested for at least 10 years,

(C) biodiversity enhancement,

(D) the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions through the preservation of carbon storing plants and trees,

(E) soil erosion management,

(F) soil fertility restoration, and

(G) the duration of the project, including any project under which other entities are engaged to extend the duration of the project beyond the minimum carbon sequestration project term.

(e) GUIDELINES FOR QUANTIFYING BENEFITS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Under the carbon sequestration program, the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other members of the implementing panel, shall institute guidelines for the development of methodologies for quantifying the amount of carbon sequestered by particular projects for the purposes of determining the acceptability of project proposals. These guidelines should set standards for project sponsors with regard to--

(A) methodologies for measuring the carbon sequestered,

(B) measures to assure the duration of projects sponsored,

(C) criteria that verifies that the carbon sequestered is additional to the sequestration which would have occurred without the sponsored project,

(D) reasonable criteria to evaluate the extent to which the project displaces activity that causes deforestation in another location, and

(E) the extent to which the project promotes sustainable development in a project area, particularly with regard to protecting the traditional land tenure of indigenous people.

(2) BASIS- In developing the guidelines, the Chief of the Forest Service shall--

(A) consult with land grant universities and entities which specialize in carbon storage verification and measurement, and

(B) use information reported to the Secretary of Energy from projects carried out under the voluntary reporting program of the Energy Information Administration under section 1605 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13385).

(f) VERIFICATION STANDARDS- Under the carbon sequestration program, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation with other members of the implementing panel and the National Science Foundation, shall establish verification standards for purposes of subsection (c)(2)(D).

(g) PROGRAM REPORTING- The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop forms to monitor carbon sequestration improvements made as a result of the program established under this section and the implementing panel shall use such forms to report to the Administrator on--

(1) carbon sequestration improvements made as a result of the program,

(2) carbon sequestration practices of project sponsors enrolled in the program, and

(3) compliance with the terms of the implementing panel's approval of projects.

(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the program established under subsection (a).

SEC. 3. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCING.

An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a contract for an extension of credit from the Export-Import Bank of the United States of up to 75 percent of the cost of carrying out the carbon sequestration practices specified in the carbon sequestration project proposal to the extent that the Export-Import Bank determines that the cost sharing is appropriate, in the public interest, and otherwise meets the requirements of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.

SEC. 4. EQUITY INVESTMENT INSURANCE.

An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a contract for investment insurance issued by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation pursuant to section 234 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2194) if the Corporation determines that issuance of the insurance is consistent with the provisions of such section 234.