Public interest litigation alternative ecological restoration, how is carbon sink subscription operated?
Deforestation caused ecological environment damage, and the procuratorate appealed to the court to order the two people to carry out alternative ecological restoration by subscribing carbon sinks (carbon coupons). But how to trade carbon sinks? How to buy carbon coupons? Guizhou Province's "No. 1 Forestry Carbon Ticket" was recently successfully delivered at the Ecological Value Transformation Ecological Civilization Practice Center in Jiangkou County, Guizhou Province through judicial empowerment, paving the way for subsequent carbon ticket transactions.
Carry out alternative ecological restoration by subscribing carbon sinks (carbon coupons)
Things have to start two years ago. From March 2022 to June 2023, Yao Moujia and Yao Mouyi felled forests in Minhe Town, Jiangkou County, Guizhou Province, causing ecological and environmental damage. He was transferred to the public security organ for investigation by the Jiangkou County Forestry Bureau on suspicion of deforestation. During this period, the two men performed their responsibilities of replanting and greening in situ in accordance with the law to restore the ecology, and passed the acceptance of the forestry authorities.
After the case was transferred for review and prosecution, the People's Procuratorate of Jiangkou County decided on October 19, 2023 to file an investigation into a criminal incidental civil public interest litigation case and perform the announcement procedures. During this period, the Forestry Bureau of Jiangkou County was entrusted to evaluate the losses caused by the loss of ecological service functions during the period from the damage to the forest resources involved in the case to the completion of restoration, and calculate the corresponding carbon sink value.
In May 2024, the People's Procuratorate of Jiangkou County filed a criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit, petitioning the two people to carry out alternative ecological restoration by subscribing for carbon sinks (carbon coupons) to bear the losses caused by the loss of ecological service functions during the period from the damage to the forest resources involved in the case to the completion of the restoration. In August 2024, the People's Court of Jiangkou County ruled in support of all demands of the procuratorate.
What is a carbon ticket and how to trade it?
The "carbon ticket" is a certificate of carbon reduction and emission income rights, which is equivalent to using a forest's carbon fixation and oxygen release function as an "ID card" for asset transactions. It represents the right to benefit from carbon emission reductions in forest land, forest or agricultural crops, recognizes the carbon fixation and oxygen release functions of forests or crops in the area, and allows them to be traded as assets. Carbon coupons have the powers of trading, pledge, redemption, offset, etc., and can be traded as commodities in the carbon market.
Types of carbon coupons include forestry carbon coupons, agricultural carbon coupons, Silk Road carbon coupons, blue carbon, etc. The issuance process of carbon coupons includes monitoring and accounting by third-party agencies, expert review, and review by forestry and relevant departments. Specifically, how many tons of carbon dioxide is absorbed and how many tons of oxygen is released every year by a forest. After these steps, a certificate with the right to income is finally issued.
At present, there are three main realization modes for the realization of carbon ticket transactions: corporate purchase, financing realization, and judicial empowerment. The first two models mainly work with financial institutions to put carbon coupons into approved financing loans to realize realization, or use carbon coupons to pledge financing throughout the process through new projects. Judicial empowerment mainly relies on ecological and environmental cases handled by judicial organs (mainly procuratorial civil public interest litigation cases), and allows environmental infringers to subscribe for carbon sinks (carbon coupons) to carry out alternative ecological restoration and bear the liability for compensation for ecological damage. Implement transaction realization through judicial empowerment.
In judicial practice, some problems have been found in public interest litigation cases involving ecological environment handled by procuratorial organs that need to be solved. For example, alternative ecological restoration methods are relatively simple, mainly replanting and replanting in other places, artificial proliferation and release, and sometimes they face replanting. It is difficult to select sites for replanting and replanting, and there are time and quantity limits for proliferation and release. The problem can be solved by introducing a carbon sink subscription method to carry out alternative ecological restoration. In response to the topic of innovative judicial practice of alternative ecological restoration, the procuratorate innovatively explored the "public interest litigation + forestry carbon sink" case handling model, carried out alternative ecological restoration by subscribing carbon coupons, and invested compensation for ecological and environmental damage involved in the case into carbon sink trading. The market not only solves the problem of fund management and use, but also is conducive to the realization of the value of ecological products and green development, and is in line with the pursuit of case handling value of ecological environmental protection.
Standardize and smooth the process connection between case handling and carbon ticket trading
In order to demonstrate the importance it attaches to carbon ticket trading, the People's Procuratorate of Jiangkou County, the County Court, the County Forestry Bureau, and the County Green Finance Development Center jointly held a carbon ticket delivery ceremony, and signed the "Jiangkou County Forestry Carbon Sink Judicial Practice Connection Working Mechanism."
The carbon ticket transaction was funded and subscribed by Yao, a party involved in a criminal incidental civil public interest litigation case involving deforestation handled by the Jiangkou County Procuratorate. The company holding the carbon ticket participated in the transaction as the transferor, and was organized and delivered by the Guizhou Ecological Products Trading Center. Among them, the No. 01 carbon ticket of Guizhou Province held by Tongren Urban Investment Group Lvyuan Forest Products Co., Ltd. is the first carbon ticket after the national CCER project was restarted. It is also the first carbon ticket in the first batch of Guizhou Province (the certified carbon emission reduction is 23,985.28 tons, which can be repeatedly split and used).
The carbon coupons delivered in Jiangkou County (approved carbon emission reduction of 95 tons, transaction unit price of 85 yuan/ton, total price of 8112.8 yuan) were transferred to Guizhou Fanjing Ecological Products Operation Management Co., Ltd.(Jiangkou County Green Financial Development Center) through a carbon coupon transaction agreement. After being transferred to Guizhou Fanjing Ecological Products Operation and Management Co., Ltd.(Jiangkou County Green Financial Development Center), the transaction was realized through carbon sink cases handled by the local judicial authorities.
In order to standardize and smooth the process of connection between case handling and carbon ticket trading, the People's Procuratorate of Jiangkou County, the County Court, Forestry Bureau, and County Green Finance Development Center jointly issued the "Working Mechanism for the Judicial Practice Connection of Forestry Carbon Sinks in Jiangkou County" after several rounds of consultations, adopting the "three books and two certificates."(Application for subscription, judgment documents, subscription agreements, subscription vouchers, and verification vouchers) Standardize the path and process of subscription of forestry carbon sinks involved in the case, and ensure standardized operation, institutionalized guarantee, and long-term operation of the working mechanism.
