Under rules adopted this week by the California Air Resources Board, timber firms could earn tens of millions of dollars through the sale of carbon credits. Despite opposition to a provision that would make clearcutting eligible to receive offset credits, the Board passed a plan that critics say was unduly influenced by logging industry lobbyists.

The state’s Cap and Trade plan is designed to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 under A.B. 32. Passage of the plan effectively creates the biggest carbon market in the nation.

Air Resources Board Adopts Plan That Could Encourage Logging of State Forests | Timber Industry Lobbied to Alter Environmental Ruling in its Favor | California Watch: Timber Firms Stand to Benefit from New Climate Law

Sierra Club Forest Protection Committee | Center for Biological Diversity