Reduced Emissions from Megafires Methodology Approved

Propelled by support from Anew and CAL FIRE, Climate Forward’s Reduced Emissions from Megafires (REM) Forecast Methodology was approved in early March. REM represents a critical new means of financing forest health activities like prescribed burning, thinning, and mastication, ahead of what will likely be a challenging 2023 fire season, according to California fire officials.

Studies conducted by the US Forest Service and Department of Interior indicate that the above described fuel reduction efforts yield significant climate benefits through more rapid post-fire regeneration and reduced future fire severity. These activities also have the added benefit of reducing fire suppression costs and mitigating risk of loss of life and property. However, practitioners such as non-profits and government agencies often face difficulties in funding these treatments. The generation and sale of credits from emission reductions associated with avoided wildfire emissions provides an essential source of funding for these activities. Since credit ownership resides with the practitioner, the credit sale proceeds support them in further scaling up their efforts.

The REM methodology was developed in parallel with a proprietary software platform that enables rapid credit quantification. The platform, built in partnership with Spatial Informatics Group, compresses two to three months of manual modeling work into two hours of automated processing when provided with a treatment shapefile and treatment parameters. Anew is presently contracted with four California-based resource agencies to generate and monetize credits, thereby enabling greater scale of urgently needed fuels reduction efforts in our public and private forests. We expect credits to be generated from these efforts in mid-2024 and are continuing to enroll new project partners.

For more information about REM credit development and future issuances, please contact David Lach, Director, Natural Climate Solutions – Avoided Wildfire Emissions.