Positioning the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Region as a Leader in the Voluntary Carbon Offset Market
GSGP commissioned the Global CO2 Initiative at the University of Michigan to assess how the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region could become a “go-to” destination for voluntary carbon offsets with economic, environmental, climate, and social benefits. The conclusion is that the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region has many possibilities to supply both nature-based solutions, such as tree planting, and engineered carbon projects, such as direct air capture, into the voluntary carbon offset markets.
Overall, the report finds 52 gigatons (a gigaton equals one billion tons) of environmentally sound, high-quality carbon storage is possible regionwide by 2050. This storage capacity could generate US$783 billion for the region due to the demands of the global carbon markets through voluntary carbon offset programs. Captured carbon can be used to manufacture many types of products from building materials to fuel, or it can be stored in underground geologic formations.
