ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.: Community Ecosystem Restoration Program First in Canada to Receive Gold Level-Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard's Validation
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jul 14, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. /quotes/comstock/11v!esr (CA:ESR 0.25, 0.00, 0.00%) , through its 100% owned subsidiary ERA Ecosystem Restoration Associates Inc. (ERA), is pleased to announce that their Community Ecosystem Restoration Program (CERP) has received final validation to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance's (CCBA) Gold Level Project Design Standard as of June 24th, 2010.
The CCBA Project Design Standards evaluate land-based carbon mitigation projects in the early stages of development. The CCBA Standards were created to foster the integration of best-practice and multiple-benefit approaches into project design and evolution. The Standards identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities, and conserve biodiversity, while promoting excellence and innovation in project design.
In order to meet CCBA's "Gold Level Project Standard" a project must meet or surpass the following criteria:
"The Gold Level Climate Change Adaptation Benefits criterion identifies projects that will provide significant support to assist communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Communities and biodiversity in some areas of the world will be more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. Land-based carbon projects have the potential to help local communities and biodiversity adapt to climate change by: diversifying revenues and livelihood strategies; maintaining valuable ecosystem services such as hydrological regulation, pollination, pest control and soil fertility; and increasing habitat connectivity across a range of habitat and climate types."
Dr. Robert Falls, ERA's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "In being the first in Canada to have attained the rigorous Gold Level Standard, ERA has again demonstrated its pioneering spirit and its capacity for developing high quality projects and carbon offset products for growing international carbon markets."
The third party validation was completed by KPMG Forest Certification Services Inc. The CERP project is the first project in Canada to be double validated to both the ISO-14064-2 standard and the CCBA Gold Standard.
CERP is a large scale urban ecosystem restoration program that began in the District of Maple Ridge in 2005, and now includes projects in the District of Mission, the City and Township of Langley, and Metro Vancouver. To date, CERP has generated over 700,000 tonnes of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) for the international carbon markets. The VERs generated from CERP are serialized and registered on the international Markit Environmental Registry.
About CCBA
The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) is a partnership between leading companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and research institutions seeking to promote integrated solutions to land management around the world. With this goal in mind, the CCBA has developed voluntary standards to help design and identify land management projects that simultaneously minimize climate change, support sustainable development and conserve biodiversity. Website address http://www.climate-standards.org/index.html
About KPMG Forest Certification Services Inc.
KPMG Forest Certification Services Inc. (KPMG FCSI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of KPMG LLP, the Canadian member firm of KPMG International. KPMG FCSI is accredited to conduct forest management and chain of custody certification audits worldwide by the Forest Stewardship Council. KPMG FCSI's team of professional foresters, biologists, and environmental management systems assessors has been actively involved in the evolution of forest practices auditing for over eight years, and brings a wealth of auditing expertise to task in conducting each assessment.
http://www.kpmg.ca/en/
About ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.
ERA is a Canadian pioneer in forest restoration and conservation carbon offset projects. The company's Community Ecosystem Restoration Program located in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, began in 2005 in the District of Maple Ridge, and has grown to include five communities including Metro Vancouver. ERA has delivered over 1,000,000 tonnes of carbon offsets to the voluntary market and is engaged in the development of forest carbon projects in Canada, Africa and the Hawaiian Islands to supply the North American pre-compliance market. ERA's clients and product users include Air Canada, Catalyst Paper, HSE - Entega, Rolling Stone Magazine, Shell Canada Limited, The Forest Carbon Group, and The Globe Foundation of Canada. ERA's carbon offsets are being validated to the ISO 14064, CCBA, and VCS standards.
Additional information on ERA can be found on the corporate website www.eracarbonoffsets.com or by contacting investor@eracarbonoffsets.com
On behalf of the Board of Directors of ERA CARBON OFFSETS LTD.
Robert Falls, Chief Executive Officer
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of forest-based carbon offsets. When used in this document, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of carbon credits, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts:
ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.
Alex Langer
604-646-0400
alex.langer@eraecosystems.com
www.eracarbonoffsets.com
SOURCE: ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.
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