Forests and the UNFCCC

1
Forests and the UNFCCC

• Why forestry is important for
• climate change mitigation
• Patrick Van Laake
• ITC The Netherlands

2
Climate change Historical
3
Climate change Forests

• In 2005 the world had almost 4 billion hectares
  of forest or 30.3 of the total land area
• About 8.5 million hectares of forest are lost
  annually
• Deforestation and forest degradation contribute
  almost 20 to the net anthropogenic greenhouse
  gas emissions
• Forests themselves are being affected by climate
  change
• Temperature increases are shifting ecological
  niches to higher latitudes and higher elevations
• Changes in precipitation affect ecological niches
• Most changes have a negative impact

4
The international response

• In 1992 the Earth Summit was held in Rio de
  Janeiro
• This conference was the first to establish the
  threat to the environment and made a call for
  action
• Three treaties followed from the Earth Summit
• United Nations Convention on Climate Change
• United Nations Convention to Combat
  Desertification
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Considerable international funding has supported
  these Conventions
• Little real progress has been made

5
The UNFCCC

• The UNFCCC aims to reducethe impact of climate
  changeon the human and naturalenvironment
• The UNFCCC is a treaty organization it can set
  binding agreements between countries
• Virtually all countries are party to the UNFCCC
• The UNFCCC is supported by a number of subsidiary
  bodies for scientific and technological advice to
  the policy makers

6
Kyoto Protocol

• In 1997, the UNFCCC adopted the Kyoto Protocol
• It entered into force on 16 February 2005
• This is the first agreement within the UNFCCC
  that sets binding emission reduction targets for
  industrialized countries
• The Kyoto Protocol includes mechanisms to offset
  emissions in industrialized countries with
  emission reductions in non-industrialized
  countries
• Joint Implementation
• Clean Development Mechanism
• The Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012 and
  negotiations are ongoing for a new climate
  agreement

7
Afforestation / Reforestation CDM

• Under the Clean Development Mechanism an option
  was included for forestry
• Afforestation and reforestation were eligible on
  a project basis
• Land that did not have forest since at least 1990
• Limited potential for other uses
• Limited impact on local communities
• Transfer of knowledge and technology
• Demonstration of additionality and permanence
• Assessment of leakage

8
Shortcomings

• Afforestation / Reforestation CDM has received
  much criticism
• The process is too bureaucratic and very costly
• Scope is limited
• Only large projects qualify
• The process is mostly driven by the sponsor, not
  by the host country
• As a result only a few project proposals have
  been submitted and only one project has been
  registered with the UNFCCC
• Guangxi Watershed management project China

9
Avoided deforestation

• The limited practical use of AR-CDM led to the
  call for a more comprehensive mechanism for the
  inclusion of tropical forests
• Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica made a plea in
  2005 to give credits for reducing emissions due
  to deforestation
• This initiative was accepted by the UNFCCC and
  the idea was further developed
• Quick response by the scientific community
  commenting on the idea GOFC-GOLD developing
  methods to support monitoring using remote
  sensing
• UNFCCC called for a formal proposal by 2007

10
The Stern Review

• Meanwhile the Government of the United Kingdom
  commissioned a review to look at the economics of
  climate change, including the potential role of
  forestry in a new climate agreement
• The Stern Review received wide attention
• The benefits of strong, early action on climate
  change outweigh the costs
• Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective
  way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Action to preserve the remaining areas of
  natural forest is needed urgently

11
REDD

• Over time avoided deforestation became more
  comprehensive and a new name was coined
• Reducing Emissions from Deforestationin
  Developing Countries
• REDD received wide attention after the UNFCCC
  drafted Decision 2/CP.13 in Bali, December 2007
• REDD includes not only deforestation, but also
  forest degradation and forest enhancement
• REDD is still being defined, but demonstration
  activities are now being developed

12
Forest-dependent communities

• Forests do not only act as carbon store, they
  also provide many economic and social benefits to
  society
• The UNFCCC recognizes that many communities
  depend on the forest for their economic or
  cultural livelihoods
• It would be unethical to deprive communities from
  their local forest resources emphasis should be
  on enhanced forest management
• Potential buyers of carbon credits may be
  sensitive to issues related to indigenous groups
  and local communities
• Meaningful involvement of local communities in
  improved forest management has proven to be very
  successful in many countries

13
The road ahead

• Decision 2/CP.13 defined many issues that need to
  be addressed
• Methodological issues
• Assessment of biomass in the forest
• Assessment of forest degradation
• National carbon accounting system
• Demonstration activities
• REDD, or elements thereof, should be tested in
  practice to demonstrate their validity
• Countries should gain familiarity with the REDD
  program
• By December 2009 these issues need to be solved
  to the degree that a decision to continue can be
  made at CoP 15 in Copenhagen

14
International initiatives

• Many international initiatives are deployed to
  help formulate and implement REDD
• Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
• UN-REDD
• Bi-lateral agreements
• Demonstration projects
• Development of methodology
• IPCC guidelines
• GOFC-GOLD methodology for national carbon
  monitoring (REDD Sourcebook)

15
The Eliasch Review

• On 14 October the UK Government released a review
  of financing options for REDD
• Deforestation should be halved by 2020 and forest
  should be carbon neutral by 2030
• Net benefits of halting emissions from forests
  are up to 3.7 trillion
• Tropical forest nations (40) will need up to 40
  billion over the next five years for capacity
  building
• The carbon market from forests could reach 26
  billion annually

16
Post 2012

• REDD is likely to become an operational method
  under the UNFCCC after expiry of the Kyoto
  Protocol, in 2013
• In order to profit from the method, countries
  need to demonstrate compliance with the
  requirements of the program
• National carbon assessment and monitoring system
• Accurate assessments and reporting
• Meaningful involvement of local population