. . . the Nebraska Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee  

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About Us

Meeting Agenda including Carbon Market Update  The Committee meets as needed, in varying locations around the State, generally at least once per quarter. The "Carbon Market Update" presented during this session provides an overview of developments in the carbon markets as well as other realms of the climate change discussions and events.

Legislative Bill 957.  In anticipation of an eventual emergence of carbon emission limits or that emissions will be covered in part by storage (credits) at some point in the future, the Nebraska Unicameral (Legislature) had the foresight to pass Legislative Bill 957 during the 96th session, year 2000.  This bill created the Nebraska Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee.  The Bill facilitates  addressing the problem of how to "quantify and verify carbon sequestration on agricultural land. . ."  in order to  "enhance the ability of the state's agricultural landowners to participate in  any system of carbon or greenhouse emissions marketing or trading  (LB 957, p. 2, lines18-22)."  The Committee is charged with preparing two reports about  1) the amount of  carbon that can be sequestered (stored) in Nebraska land and, 2)   the political, legal and economic realities about  programs and markets for carbon stored in land.  Several state and federal agencies as well as the Public Policy Center at the University of Nebraska were engaged to help the Committee write these reports.

The Committee is also charged with providing educational and advisory materials on carbon sequestration and storage in Nebraska  land, and on the opportunities to participate in programs and/or carbon trading. This Website is part of  this effort.  The overall task of the Committee is to facilitate finding the higher plane of mutual benefits from pursuing the joint public and private interest.  This is illustrated by the "one part understanding, two parts public and private interest" in the rotating carbon dioxide molecule (one part carbon, two parts oxygen, CO₂) on this page.

Membership  Committee members are appointed by the Governor.  The membership represents a coalition of crop and livestock producers; state and federal agencies; private and public power, and ethanol industry business firms; and  university faculty.

Last update:  September 16, 2004