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.

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.

Summary: 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.