Horse-Powered Non-Fossil-Fuel Offset Product

HORSE-POWERED FARM OPERATIONS OFFSET PRODUCT

Units: Acres per year

TCO2e Emission Avoidance: 233 tCO2e per acre per year

Activity: 20-year history of horse-powered farm operations resulting in unique offset products. 

Payment of Ecosystem Services Product:

• Elimination of CO₂ and criteria pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion typical of tractor use.
• Minimal impact on the landscape.
• Contributes to natural fertilization by usage of horse manure, excluding artificial high nitrogen fertilizer.
• Horse-power is a natural renewable energy resource.

Additional Information

This is a payment for ecosystem services product 20-years in the making. The product is apportioned by area, in acres, per year,  representing the project land area. 132-acre  unit products are available each year representing horse-powered farm operations and exclusion of tractors. Multiple years can be purchased at discount. A certificate of purchase is provided. The cost of this ecosystem service will increase per  year as the social cost of the emissions also increases. 

• Horse-powered farm operations across 132 acres eliminates fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions and contamination by oil products typical of tractor operations. The natural ecosystem service of capturing CO2 is protected while emitting less to the atmosphere than if tractor CO₂ emissions were present.

• Horse-power may seem low-tech, but it is a powerful and elegant natural means to eliminate CO₂ and related emissions from farm operations.

• The social cost to society of tractor emissions versus horse-power is estimated at $61,479 per year or, $1,229,580 over the 20-year commitment to horse-power for the farm. The units offered represent only the current year.

• An estimated 233 metric tons of GHG emissions are avoided each year by the commitment to continue, each year, the use of horses. The avoided emissions are approximately equivalent to eliminating about 50 cars driven for one year.

• The greenhouse gas combustion emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are eliminated to reduce global warming. 

• Criteria pollutants that diminish human and animal health are also eliminated as well as protecting the ozone layer. Sheep and horse emission of methane is minimal compared to the land area and when compared to cattle. 

• Verification: The Buckwheat Blossom Farm GHG ecosystem service is directly attributable to farm management and is verified by monthly visits to the farm and by analysis of air on the farm commencing in the summer of 2022.

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Terms and Disclaimer, Use of Offset Guidance

By purchasing this product, the buyer agrees to the terms and conditions of the sale, acknowledges the disclaimer, and considers, as desired or required, guidance for offset purchases. Planet Alpha certificates are a purchasable commodity that represents one tone of CO2eq (this includes CH4 and N2O when they are also measured) removals and reductions, for the use of insetting or offsetting emissions.

Purchase of PAC offsets helps farmers manage the climate crisis through identifying the key  economic and educational barriers preventing the transition towards sustainable farming. Buying certificates of the Buckwheat Blossom Farm, individuals, companies, and organizations are helping further accelerate the transition. PAC farming GHG offsetting is focused on the community of Maine farmers seeking to improve soil health, biodiversity and overall resilience to pests and climate changes

Planet Alpha recognizes the requirement to ensure that our certificates represent real and directly measured reduction of emissions, according to practices that are accepted by the scientific community. We urge all buyers to use offsetting as one component of their pathway towards total emission reductions. For corporations we recommend buying our offsets as part of a lager plan towards reduction or elimination of their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Here is a checklist of criteria that we urge all buyers to consider:

• Develop an emissions reduction target. The initial target could be your purchase of PAC offsets.
• Create a plan for how to reduce emissions going forward . This can be as simple as a 5-point list.
• If you have achieved emissions, add PAC offsets to your reduction  ledger and statement.
• State a net-negative, net-zero, or carbon neutral target year.
• For corporate buyers, add PAC offsets to your calculation of company total emissions (Ideally to include scope 1,2 and 3 levels).

Our guidance for purchase of PAC GHG certificates is not as a quick fix, but as one component to be used in combination with emission reduction strategies. PAC GHG certificates are not intended to be used to compensate for unavoidable emissions for buyers. PAC offsets are not intended as a means to increase emissions, but as a means to manage total emissions.

PAC certificates are not in any way eligible for resale or distribution. A buyer’s resale of purchased certificates is strictly forbidden. PAC has the right to recall all certificates sold due to breach, if the buyer attempts to, causes, or completes such resale of certificates. All certificates are numbered and entered into the PAC no-fee registry.

All products purchased by buyers are offered “as is” and according to the specifications at the time of purchase. While PAC employs what it considers as the best available information, methods and protocols, the buyer recognizes that GHG offsets and their commercialization are ongoing, evolving processes subject to change and discovery. PAC provides direct measurements of land area and greenhouse gas (GHG) flux for individuals, businesses and other organizations that are voluntarily seeking to reduce GHG emissions or attain net-zero or carbon neutral status for their activities, operations, products, services, or events.

PAC utilizes gas measurements based on a scientifically rigorous and transparent framework that is based on international gas standards and verification by embedded software to remove outlier data and/or to exclude periods over which measurements were not made due to instrument malfunction (see our publication: “Direct measurement forest carbon protocol: a commercial system-of-systems to incentivize forest restoration and management” accessible here: https://peerj.com/articles/8891/).

The PAC protocol and methods are not to be relied upon to assert any legal or contractual relationship with PAC other than the transaction between seller and buyer. While PAC makes best efforts and utilizes the best available information, it does not purport to contain all the information that may be required by a buyer to use or to make an informed decision about using PAC offsets to make a declaration of GHG emission reductions, net-zero, or carbon neutrality. Buyers of PAC offsets should, as desired or needed, obtain independent advice on, and conduct their own independent inquiries, analyses, and assessment of, the information provided by PAC.

PAC may vary, cancel, supplement, supersede or replace protocols or methods at any time. PAC expressly disclaims all liability for any losses, costs or expenses incurred directly or indirectly by any party as a result of any reliance on purchases, PAC protocols, methods, and services, as may be amended from time to time. PAC disclaims all liability for any losses, costs or expenses incurred by any party or as a result of any use beyond the intended purpose of offerings by PAC.

Nothing in the purchase of offsets will of itself be construed as creating any binding contract (express or implied) between PAC and the buyer and or interested party (prospective or actual), beyond the transaction between buyer and seller. Transactions between the buyer and seller, or any Information provided by PAC regarding the transaction, does not constitute an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy.

Refund Policy

For all on-line sales if you would like to cancel your order please email us (info@planetalphaforest.earth) within 14 days explaining the reason for the cancellation. We will provide a full refund less 10% administration charge, and less postage charges in the case the certificate was sent by mail.