Page 82 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

The Establishment of New Carbon Sink Areas in Non-Forest Lands and
Carbon Farming in the Process of Climate Change Adaptation

In the equation, ACO2, Md, Nc and Rc refer respectively to the amount of
CO2 in biomass (tonnes), the dry weight of 1 kg of biomass, the amount of
carbon in 1 kg of dry biomass (0.45) and the ratio of CO2 with 44 atomic mass
units to carbon with 12 atomic mass units ((44/12) = 3.66).
Different methods and approaches are used to determine the metric value
and market value of carbon. Generally, pricing is based on dry matter weight
and carbon conversion rates. With the aim of calculating the financial value
of carbon dioxide sequestered in sink areas, carbon prices in international
markets are taken as a reference. For example, according to the estimates of
IPPC for the year 1996, the value of carbon ranges between $5-$125 /tC (IPCC,
2014). A study by the UK Government Economic Service (GES) indicates this
value between $35-$140 /tC (Clarkson and Deyes, 2002). It has also been
suggested that this value could be increased by $1 per 1 tonne of carbon
yearly, assuming a rise in the severity of climate change.
In Türkiye, despite the existence of voluntary carbon markets, an official
carbon market for sinks has not yet been established. Therefore, the carbon
price is calculated as $18 considering the minimum values suggested by GES
(Sarı, 2024). The net present value (NPV) of carbon dioxide sequestered in
sinks is determined by considering different interest rates and rotation periods
(5-40 years) (Görücü, 2004).
For the purpose of finding the economic value of carbon, calculations are
made using parameters such as total average annual increment and carbon
price. The dry biomass weight for different plant formations ranges from 1
to 8 tonnes per hectare. These calculations are important in determining the
carbon dioxide equivalent sequestered by sink areas and the market value of
carbon (Eker, 1997).
The discount rate used for natural capital in the calculations can be used as
3 percent or 5 percent for the NPV of carbon (Price and Willis, 1993; Newell
and Stevens, 1999; Obersteiner et al., 2007).

[2]

In this equation, TMAI, Pc and D refer respectively to total average annual
increment (m3/ha), carbon price (18 $/t C) and discount factor for the period
given by Equation 3.

[3]
In this equation, r is the discount rate and t indicates the period.

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Special Issue / 2024