MISSISSIPPI STATE – Carbon trading has been around for about a decade, but with the increasing global concern regarding climate change, it is receiving even more attention.

Forest landowners have the potential to generate additional income by using their forest for carbon sequestration, a method providing long-term storage of carbon dioxide.

A July 15 workshop sponsored by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and Forest and Wildlife Research Center will hold a workshop to raise awareness and knowledge of the Cap and Trade Carbon Market and how forestry fits into this overall program.

The workshop will be at the Franklin Center on the Starkville campus and will also be simultaneously broadcast throughout the state at county Extension offices. Presenters include nationally recognized experts in the field of carbon credits as they relate to forestry.

“Trees are an excellent biological model for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide and storing carbon long term,” said Randy Rousseau, associate Extension and research professor in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center. “Developing carbon emissions cap-and-trade protocols may provide a market where carbon is held in forests and sold as carbon credits to an entity, such as an industrial plant that has not been able to meet emission level standards.”

The workshop is designed for forest landowners, professional foresters, concerned citizens, Extension personnel and teachers. It will offer information on how the newly proposed federal legislation will impact forestry as the move from a voluntary carbon market to a governmental cap-and-trade carbon market takes place.

The workshop cost is $35 for individuals and $50 for couples and includes lunch and educational materials. Six continuing forestry education credits are available for the one-day workshop.

Preregistration is required by July 7. Contact the local county Extension office or Jan McReynolds at (662) 325-3905 or janm@ext.msstate.edu.