Carrie Lee
Staff Scientist
Seattle, WA
carrie.lee@sei-us.org
skype: carrielee123
+1 (206) 547-4000 x2#
Carrie works in the Climate and Energy program at the Seattle office of SEI's US center. Her research focuses on forest and agricultural climate mitigation strategies, carbon offsets, bio-energy production, ecosystem ecology and management, and regional climate change impacts assessment. She serves as an advisor to the Western Climate Initiative's Offset Committee and is a lead author of SEI's Handbook of Carbon Offset Programs, Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols and Standards.
Carrie received her M.S. in Forest Resources and Interdisciplinary Policy Dimensions of Earth Science from the University of Washington in 2007 and was honored with fellowships from the Program on Climate Change and the Program on the Environment. Her master's thesis evaluated the forest stand and Washington State level feasibility of methanol production from woody biomass. She received a B.A. in biology from Carleton College in 2001.
Recent Publications by Carrie Lee
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Bioenergy Projects and Sustainable Development: Which Project Types Offer the Greatest Benefits?SEI Working Paper No. 2011-04 Author(s): Lee, C. ; Lazarus, M.Year: 2011 Research Area(s): Bioenergy Description: Modern bioenergy sources are often viewed as important components of a low-carbon, energy-secure future. Given the diversity of biomass resources, options, markets and scales, however, a better understanding of how well different bioenergy project types can provide sustainable development is needed. This paper evaluates how the potential for sustainable development benefits differs across 12 bioenergy project types, in order to help identify which project types are best positioned to provide such benefits. It systematically examines the benefits claimed in project design documents for 76 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) bioenergy projects in India, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa.More information Download PDF |
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Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions of Alternatives for Woody Biomass ResiduesReport for Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) Author(s): Lee, C. ; Erickson, P. ; Lazarus, M. ; Smith, G.Year: 2011 Research Area(s): Bioenergy ; Climate Mitigation Policy Description: This report provides a comprehensive accounting of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions for 15 different ways to use or dispose of woody debris generated through forest practices in the Pacific Northwest. It looks at the life-cycle emissions produced by the two common disposal methods as well as 13 alternatives involving use of the residues as a soil amendment, for residential energy, for industrial energy, as industrial feedstock, and for liquid fuel. It is accompanied by a downloadable Woody Biomass Emissions Calculator (WBEC).More information External Link |
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How offset programs assess and approve projects and creditsCarbon Management 1:1, 119-134 Author(s): Kollmuss, A. ; Lee, C. ; Lazarus, M.Year: 2010 Research Area(s): Emissions Trading & Offsets Description: Over the past decade, some offset programs have developed sophisticated processes to review offset projects, approve or reject them, and issue credits based on their performance. This paper reviews offset project approval and credit issuance processes for three compliance market programs and five programs that issue offset credits for the voluntary carbon market. It is important for policymakers to understand differences and recognize lessons learned from existing programs for the design and possible linking of future offset programs and markets. This paper provides an initial comparison of the decision-making structures of offset programs and discusses best practices. It suggests that an in-depth evaluation and comparison of program performance will be necessary to identify how program design impacts offset performance and quality.External Link |
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Handbook of Carbon Offset Programs Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols and StandardsEarthScan Publication Author(s): Kollmuss, A. ; Lazarus, M. ; Lee, C. ; LeFranc, M. ; Polycarp, C.Year: 2010 Research Area(s): Emissions Trading & Offsets Description: This handbook provides a systematic and comprehensive review of existing offset programs. It looks at what offsets are, how offset mechanisms function, and the successes and pitfalls they have encountered. Coverage includes offset programs across the full swath of applications including 27 mandatory and voluntary systems, government regulated and private markets, carbon offset funds, and accounting and reporting protocols such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol and ISO 14064. The handbook is an essential reference for all regulators, policy makers, business leaders and NGOs concerned with the design and operation of GHG offset programs world-wide.External Link |
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Road-Testing of Selected Offset Protocols and Standards; A Comparison of Offset Protocols: Landfills, Manure, and Afforestation/ReforestationSEI Working Paper WP-US-1001 Author(s): Lazarus, M. ; Lee, C. ; Smith, G. ; Todd, K. ; Weitz, M.Year: 2010 Research Area(s): Emissions Trading & Offsets Description: This report examines U.S. EPA Climate Leaders' protocols for landfill methane, manure digesters, and afforestation project types, comparing them with the current versions of protocols developed for four other offset programs: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), California Climate Action Registry (CCAR), and Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). We road tested these protocols for two sample projects for each of three project types to reveal differences in amounts of offsets counted under the different protocols.Note: This paper was last updated in April 2010. An earlier version was published as SEI Working Paper WP-US-0904. For a copy of the paper, email Carrie Lee at carrie.lee[at]sei-us.org. More information Download PDF |