The Saskatchewan provincial government is planning to implement a carbon credit program that rewards projects for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Gases will be measured in carbon dioxide equivalent units. The program provides 1 credit for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent removed from the atmosphere. Credits can be used to increase emission caps set by the government or sold for money. How the market for credits will be regulated has not been announced.
In Saskatchewan, research has found that a 1 kilometer row of shelterbelt trees can sequester anywhere from 1.7 to 6.5 tonnes of carbon per year. 1 gram of sequestered carbon requires 3.66 grams of CO2. If a tree sequesters the maximum of 6.5 tonnes of carbon it will have used approximately 24 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
According to US EPA a typical passenger vehicle emits approximately 4.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide gas every year. Each kilometer of shelterbelt trees has the potential to remove approximately the same mass of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that 6 passenger cars emit every year while also earning up to 24 carbon credits.
References
Amichev, B. Y., Bentham, M., Kulshreshtha, S., Laroque, C. P., Piwowar, J. M., & Rees, K. V. (2016). Carbon sequestration and growth of six common tree and shrub shelterbelts in Saskatchewan, Canada. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. doi:10.1139/cjss-2016-0107
Rhiendel, C. (2019, June 03). Saskatchewan Begins Development Of Prairie Resilience Carbon Offset Framework. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2019/june/03/carbon-offset-framework
Kulshreshtha, S., & Kort, J. (2008). External economic benefits and social goods from prairie shelterbelts. Agroforestry Systems, 75(1), 39-47. doi:10.1007/s10457-008-9126-5
United States of America, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Offce of Transportation and Air Quality. (2018). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle. Retrieved 2020, from https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100U8YT.pdf