text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``International Carbon Conservation 
  Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROGRAM.
  
      (a) Carbon Sequestration Program.--Within 180 days after the date 
  of the enactment of this Act, the implementing panel shall establish a 
  carbon sequestration program to permit project sponsors to make carbon 
  sequestration project proposals to the implementing panel.
      (b) Implementing Panel.--There is established within the National 
  Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce an 
  implementing panel consisting of--
              (1) the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
          Technology,
              (2) the Secretary of Agriculture,
              (3) the Secretary of State,
              (4) the Secretary of Energy,
              (5) the Chief of the Forest Service, and
              (6) representatives of nongovernmental organizations who 
          have an expertise and experience in carbon sequestration 
          practices, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
  The Chief of the Forest Service shall act as chairperson of the 
  implementing panel.
      (c) Carbon Sequestration Project.--For purposes of this section--
              (1) In general.--The term ``carbon sequestration project'' 
          means a project--
                      (A) which is located outside the United States,
                      (B) the duration of which is not less than 30 
                  years,
                      (C) which is designed to increase the sequestration 
                  of carbon, and
                      (D) which is accepted by the implementing panel 
                  under the carbon sequestration program.
              (2) Acceptance of project proposals.--
                      (A) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration 
                  program, the implementing panel shall accept a proposal 
                  for a carbon sequestration project from a project 
                  sponsor only if--
                              (i) the proposal includes a needs 
                          assessment described in subparagraph (B),
                              (ii) the proposal identifies the benefits 
                          of carbon sequestration practices of the 
                          sponsored project under criteria developed to 
                          evaluate such benefits under subsection (d) and 
                          under guidelines instituted to quantify such 
                          benefits under subsection (e) and includes an 
                          agreement by the sponsor to carry out such 
                          practices as described in subparagraph (C), and
                              (iii) the proposal includes an agreement to 
                          provide verification of compliance with an 
                          approved project as described in subparagraph 
                          (D) under standards established under 
                          subsection (f).
                      (B) Needs assessment.--A needs assessment described 
                  in this subparagraph is an assessment of the need for 
                  the carbon sequestration project described in a 
                  proposal and the ability of the project sponsor to 
                  carry out the carbon sequestration practices related to 
                  such project. The assessment shall be developed by the 
                  project sponsor, in cooperation with the Agency for 
                  International Development, nongovernmental 
                  organizations, and independent third-party verifiers.
                      (C) Carbon sequestration practices.--Under a carbon 
                  sequestration project proposal, the project sponsor 
                  shall agree to contract with other entities, including 
                  organizations based in the country in which the 
                  sponsored carbon sequestration project is located, to 
                  carry out carbon sequestration practices proposed by 
                  the project sponsor which (as determined by the 
                  implementing panel)--
                              (i) provide for additional carbon 
                          sequestration beyond that which would be 
                          provided in the absence of such project, and
                              (ii) contribute to a positive reduction of 
                          greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through 
                          carbon sequestration over at least a 30-year 
                          period.
                      (D) Verification of compliance with approved carbon 
                  sequestration project.--Under a carbon sequestration 
                  project proposal, the project sponsor shall agree to 
                  provide the implementing panel with verification 
                  through a third party that such project is sequestering 
                  carbon in accordance with the proposal approved by the 
                  implementing panel, including an annual audit of the 
                  project, an actual verification of the practices at the 
                  project site every 5 years, and such random inspections 
                  as are necessary.
      (d) Criteria for Evaluating Benefits of Carbon Sequestration 
  Practices.--
              (1) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration program the 
          Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other members 
          of the implementing panel, shall develop criteria for 
  prioritizing, determining the acceptability of, and evaluating, the 
  benefits of the carbon sequestration practices proposed in projects for 
  the purpose of determining the acceptability of project proposals.
              (2) Content.--The criteria shall ensure that carbon 
          sequestration investment credits under section 45E of the 
          Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are not allocated to projects the 
          primary purpose of which is to grow timber for commercial 
          harvest or to projects which replace native ecological systems 
          with commercial timber plantations. Projects should be 
          prioritized according to--
                      (A) native forest preservation, especially with 
                  respect to land which would otherwise cease to be 
                  native forest land,
                      (B) reforestation of former forest land where such 
                  land has not been forested for at least 10 years,
                      (C) biodiversity enhancement,
                      (D) the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions 
                  through the preservation of carbon storing plants and 
                  trees,
                      (E) soil erosion management,
                      (F) soil fertility restoration, and
                      (G) the duration of the project, including any 
                  project under which other entities are engaged to 
                  extend the duration of the project beyond the minimum 
                  carbon sequestration project term.
      (e) Guidelines for Quantifying Benefits.--
              (1) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration program, 
          the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other 
          members of the implementing panel, shall institute guidelines 
          for the development of methodologies for quantifying the amount 
          of carbon sequestered by particular projects for the purposes 
          of determining the acceptability of project proposals. These 
          guidelines should set standards for project sponsors with 
          regard to--
                      (A) methodologies for measuring the carbon 
                  sequestered,
                      (B) measures to assure the duration of projects 
                  sponsored,
                      (C) criteria that verifies that the carbon 
                  sequestered is additional to the sequestration which 
                  would have occurred without the sponsored project,
                      (D) reasonable criteria to evaluate the extent to 
                  which the project displaces activity that causes 
                  deforestation in another location, and
                      (E) the extent to which the project promotes 
                  sustainable development in a project area, particularly 
                  with regard to protecting the traditional land tenure 
                  of indigenous people.
              (2) Basis.--In developing the guidelines, the Chief of the 
          Forest Service shall--
                      (A) consult with land grant universities and 
                  entities which specialize in carbon storage 
                  verification and measurement, and
                      (B) use information reported to the Secretary of 
                  Energy from projects carried out under the voluntary 
                  reporting program of the Energy Information 
                  Administration under section 1605 of the Energy Policy 
                  Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13385).
      (f) Verification Standards.--Under the carbon sequestration 
  program, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
  Technology, in consultation with other members of the implementing 
  panel and the National Science Foundation, shall establish verification 
  standards for purposes of subsection (c)(2)(D).
      (g) Program Reporting.--The Administrator of the Energy Information 
  Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
  shall develop forms to monitor carbon sequestration improvements made 
  as a result of the program established under this section and the 
  implementing panel shall use such forms to report to the Administrator 
  on--
              (1) carbon sequestration improvements made as a result of 
          the program,
              (2) carbon sequestration practices of project sponsors 
          enrolled in the program, and
              (3) compliance with the terms of the implementing panel's 
          approval of projects.
      (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the program 
  established under subsection (a).
  
  SEC. 3. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCING.
  
      An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the 
  United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project 
  approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a 
  contract for an extension of credit from the Export-Import Bank of the 
  United States of up to 75 percent of the cost of carrying out the 
  carbon sequestration practices specified in the carbon sequestration 
  project proposal to the extent that the Export-Import Bank determines 
  that the cost sharing is appropriate, in the public interest, and 
  otherwise meets the requirements of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.
  
  SEC. 4. EQUITY INVESTMENT INSURANCE.
  
      An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the 
  United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project 
  approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a 
  contract for investment insurance issued by the Overseas Private 
  Investment Corporation pursuant to section 234 of the Foreign 
  Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2194) if the Corporation determines 
  that issuance of the insurance is consistent with the provisions of 
  such section 234.
target: International Carbon Conservation Act - Establishes within the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology an implementing panel, to be headed by the Chief of the Forest Service, which shall: (1) establish a carbon sequestration program; and (2) accept qualifying projects located outside of the United States.Permits an owner or operator of property located outside the United States that is used in a qualifying project to be eligible for: (1) credit extension from the Export-Import Bank of the United States of up to 75 percent of the cost of carrying out the carbon sequestration practices specified in the contract; and (2) investment insurance issued by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
feat_title: A bill to establish a carbon sequestration program and an implementing panel within the Department of Commerce to enhance international conservation, to promote the role of carbon sequestration as a means of slowing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and to reward and encourage voluntary, pro-active environmental efforts on the issue of global climate change.