FEMA, Quantifying Carbon Capture
Carnegie Mellon University, Fall 2021
Problem Statement
Find a way for FEMA personnel to quantify the economic and environmental benefits of their property buy-out risk mitigation program.
Problem Scoping and Discovery
After the team conducted 24 informational interviews, they refined the problem statement to consider whether land from a flood buyout program could generate revenue in a carbon offset market, and further, whether this could increase equity in buyout programs.
Outcome
The team created a stochastic model determines conditions under which a community could benefit from
entering a carbon market. The model outputs expected costs and payouts from market participation. The results show that although market participation is not profitable at current market prices, communities can avoid paying several hundred dollars in ongoing maintenance costs as long as yearly carbon market operational costs are below the cost communities currently pay to maintain vacant lots.
Results / Next Steps
The team highlights that future iterations of the stochastic model could consider non-financial benefits, including habitat creation, wetland restoration, outdoor recreation access, etc.