greenhouse gas offset program, through tree planting
Carbone boréal is both a greenhouse gas (GHG) offset program, which plants trees, and a research infrastructure at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Contributors acknowledge that their donations to Carbone boréal go to Fonds de dévellopement de l’UQAC. This is a voluntary donation with no rights other than the issuance of a charitable receipt for any cumulative annual amount greater than $20. For the agricultural component, 80% of the amount is eligible for a charitable receipt. Contributors also certify that they did not fundraise to obtain their donations, which come from their own assets. To benefit from tax advantages, contributors must also certify that perks received in connection with the donation (promotion, visibility, etc., if applicable) do not exceed 10% of the total value of their donation.
Contributors acknowledge that their name and a description of the compensated activity, product, or service will appear in the official online register, unless a written notice to the contrary states that the word “anonymous” must replace their name. For each donation, Carbone boréal calculates the equivalent GHG emissions and symbolically assigns trees from the Carbone boréal experimental plantation network. Contributors acknowledge that they do not own the trees they are assigned for donating to Carbone boréal. Offsets are listed in the Carbone boréal registry, each with unique number that also appears on the offset certificate issued to the contributor to confirm GHG emission offsets. These offset emissions are removed from the total available. This makes them unavailable for any other transaction and prevents them from being double counted.
Should assigned trees be lost to natural causes (fires, insects, diseases, etc.), they will be replaced by an equivalent number of trees from reserve plantations in the Carbone boréal network. Even though CO2 sequestration due to tree growth is well understood, Carbone boréal remains a carbon sequestration research project. Carbone boréal and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi disclaim any legal or contractual liability for this research project and its outcomes.
All contributions to Carbone boréal go to a fund dedicated to various research projects related to Carbone boréal and approved by the Carbone boréal scientific committee. Université du Québec à Chicoutimi has created an endowment fund in accordance with legislative provisions for the creation of such a fund. Contributors acknowledge that 20% of their donations will be invested for long-term research. 75% of the contribution amount will be used for current research (including scholarships) and 5% will be used for program administration.
Any dispute concerning the Carbone boréal program will be governed by the laws of the Province of Québec, Canada, and will be submitted to the courts of Québec in the judicial district of Chicoutimi, which will have sole jurisdiction to hear such disputes.
Carbone boréal, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, and their respective officers, representatives, administrators, students, and employees may not be held liable for any failure or delay due to force majeure. Force majeure is an unforeseen and unavoidable event including, but not limited to, any disaster caused by nature, epidemics, pandemics, insects, fire, accidents, war, insurrection, riots, acts of terrorism, work stoppages or slowdowns, lockouts, student strikes, telecommunications or power line outages, political or contractual acts of government, or orders of a court or public authority.