Highlights Carbon Benefits of Working Forests In Comments to Greenhouse Gas Rulemaking Notice
WASHINGTON, DC (December 2, 2008) – The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO), an organization of member companies and associations representing 74 million acres of private forests in 47 states, responded to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA or Agency) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Greenhouse Gases (ANPR). NAFO encouraged the EPA to work cooperatively with private forest owners to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the full array of carbon benefits private forests can offer.
“Our private working forests provide the nation’s most significant natural carbon sink and should be fully utilized to help reduce GHG concentrations through renewable low carbon energy production and the generation of emission offsets,” said NAFO President and CEO, David P. Tenny. “NAFO’s comments to EPA emphasize our strong commitment to working collaboratively with the Agency and other interested parties to put our private forests to work on climate change through non-regulatory, market-based approaches that hold genuine promise for reducing our country’s GHG footprint.”
NAFO’s comments also cautioned EPA against seeking to treat private forests as stationary sources of GHG emissions similar to power plants and manufacturing facilities under the Clean Air Act citing a lack of legal authority to do so.
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NAFO is a growing alliance of private forest owners, managers and organizations dedicated to promoting legislative and market policies that will protect and enhance the economic and environmental value of privately owned forests across the country.
Tags: climate
