Canada’s Action Plan 2000 illustrates that Canada will be required to reduce its greenhouse emissions by approximately 195 mega tonnes per year to meet its Kyoto commitment. This 195 mega tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) at a trading price of $6 to $45 per tonne represents a market value per year of $1.17 billion to $8.78 billion. In a released report, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, an independent advisory body to the Minister of the Environment, says Canada must put a price on carbon if this country is serious about meeting its medium and long term goals for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The province of Alberta has priced CO2 at $15 per tonne for industry in Alberta.
There is a tug-of-war between affordable energy supplies and environmental concerns. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 calls for a 6% global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2010. According to the World Bank, the value of trading in permits and Carbon Emission credits exceeded US$30 billion in 2006 and more than 1.6 billion tonnes.
Recent articles in the national media highlight the Shell, Marathon Oil and Chevron $1.35 billion Quest Capture and Storage Project to capture one million tonnes CO2 per year from their Scotford Upgrader and store it 2 km underground, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of their Athabasca Oil Sands project in Alberta. This project puts into focus the cost and importance of carbon dioxide capture and storage (carbon sequestration) requirements in Canada, as we all work toward a lower carbon future.
IBK Capital advised Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. in the purchase of Project 81, raising the company $4 million to complete the purchase. Project 81 is a 100% privately owned, 60,701 hectare (149,000 acre) boreal forested land package that is one of the largest freehold land packages in the province, if not the country, to which all rights (surface, mineral and timber) have been retained by Noble. Noble announced that preliminary evaluation of the carbon sequestration potential on Project 81 is in excess of 500,000 tonnes CO2 per year for more than 30 years initially, generating a potentially significant revenue stream. Mikro-Tek of Timmins has been retained by Noble to complete a two-part full feasibility study on the carbon sequestration potential of Project 81.
Mikro-Tek is a private biotechnology company located in Ontario that produces and distributes microbial cultures of specific mycorrhizal fungi that enhance the survival and growth of plants and trees. Mikro-Tek has developed specific cultures of mycorrhizal fungi for inoculation of the boreal forest. The mycorrhizal inoculation of forestry seedlings has been shown to increase tree growth by an average of 20% to 30%, depending on the species. This additional growth carries a corresponding increase in carbon sequestration as a direct result of the inoculations.