Guizhou issues first bamboo forest carbon sink ticket

The first bamboo forest carbon sink ticket for the bamboo forest in Southwest China's Guizhou province was issued on Oct 11.

A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases. Forests offer a net carbon sink as they take in more carbon than they emit – and this carries a commercial value which is traded on a specialist exchange.

At the ticket issuing ceremony, Chihsui Rural Credit Union granted 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) of credit to Chishui Chengfeng Agricultural Development Co, the owner of the bamboo forest carbon sink ticket.

The issuing ceremony also released various carbon sink products such as carbon sink of voluntary tree planting and tourism. These products can be used as pledges to apply for loans from financial institutions. The loans should be used in forestry production and construction.

Chishui started the development of a forest carbon sink relying on national forest reserve construction products, commercial bamboo forest growing, bamboo shoot forest cultivation and transformation of low-yield and low-efficiency forests.

In September this year, Chishui Chengfeng Agricultural Development Co applied for the first bamboo forest carbon sink ticket, which is the first of its kind in Guizhou.

After review, the company's 100,000 mu (6,666.67 hectares) of moso bamboo reduced carbon emissions by 1.04 million metric tons from 2016 to 2020, equal to about 50 million yuan.

The issuing of the carbon sink ticket means that the carbon sink construction in Chishui has entered a new stage. It will further promote the exploration of forest carbon sink projects in Guizhou and turn Guizhou's lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets.