Lykes Brothers is studying the carbon footprint of its
337,000-acre ranch in Highlands County. John Alleyne thinks
Highlands County, already known for its 450,000 acres of prime
agricultural lands, has the potential for at least one more
significant crop: Carbon credits. Under a cap-and-trade system,
which many see coming within the next few years, the federal
government is likely to cap carbon emissions for various kinds
of activities, from farming to manufacturing. Some enterprises
will be able to earn “credits” because they consume more carbon
than they produce; others will be able to earn credits because
they can easily reduce their emissions well below their limits.
In either case, the credits can then be sold to other businesses
for whom lowering emissions is tougher. In Europe, carbon
trading is rapidly expanding, from $31 billion in value in 2006
to $78.6 billion last year. The European carbon markets have
emerged in response to the Kyoto Protocol, an international
treaty that mandates cuts in greenho