The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has been working on a Forest Carbon Study, led by researchers at Harvard Forest and UMass Amherst. This study was a continuation of the Land Sector Report that was part of the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap. That research focused only up to 2050, and forest researchers told EEA that it was necessary to examine forests for more than 25 years to develop a full understanding of forest dynamics, which happen over a long timescale. This new study runs through 2100.
The study found that as our forests age, carbon sequestration rates (the amount of carbon sequestered by forests each year) will decline significantly after 2050. Sequestration rates will drop by more than 80% compared to today’s rates by 2100, as older forests sequester less new carbon each year. The report examines policy choices and tradeoffs, which gives EEA a better picture of the effect of their decisions on forest policy.
You can download the 15-page executive summary of the report by clicking here. You can also download the full 143-page report here.
EEA will present the report through a webinar on Monday, March 24th at 3 pm[gc1] . To take part in the webinar, register by clicking here.
Forest Carbon Study and Webinar
