REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION and Degradation (REDD) IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Background and status of UNFCCC Policy Process The Woods Hole Research Center

Acronyms  UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  COP – Conference of the Parties  RED(D) – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation (and Degradation)  SBSTA – Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice  CDM – Clean Development Mechanism

“Submission by the Governments of Papua New Guinea & Costa Rica Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries: Approaches to Stimulate Action Eleventh Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC: Agenda Item # 6” Enter RED... Montreal, Nov 2005

REDD in the UNFCCC process  2005 –December - Montreal – RED is placed on the UNFCCC agenda with 2 year recommendations deadline  –2 SBSTA workshops on scientific, technical, and policy issues of REDD  December 2007 –Bali – 2 year deadline reached; SBSTA recommends inclusion of degradation; Bali Action Plan includes REDD as a potential option to reach climate goals

Issue: Scale  National vs Project-level approach:  National accounting approach:  avoids many problems with leakage that kept REDD out of CDM  could drive deeper Annex I commitments  Supports development of cross-sectoral policies to address drivers of deforestation  Subnational accounting approach  May allow broader initial participation  Quicker start  Promotes private sector financing

Issue: Baselines  National historical reference period based on emissions  Forward-looking baseline modeling future „business as usual“ emissions  Baseline of carbon stocks  Global average emissions baseline  Hybrid approach  Using combination of historical emissions and carbon stocks

Issue: Scope  Include degradation?  Include maintenance of carbon stocks?  Include regrowth/increase in carbon stocks?  What about countries that have not yet deforested? Perverse incentive? –Costa Rica – declining deforestation –Congo Basin – limited degradation –Brazil – extensive historical deforestation –Ghana – high deforestation rates

Issue: Financing Mechanism  Market: –Credits created for emissions reduced, which can be sold in carbon market and used for countries to meet emission reduction targets  Non-market approach: –Annex I countries contribute voluntarily to large fund not linked to market –Levy on emissions trading to fund REDD  Hybrid approaches –Separate market for REDD credits  And many others....

All approaches advantage some countries and disadvantage others  National level accounting – favors countries with strong measurement and monitoring capacity, and government infrastructure for tracking and accounting  Historical baselines – favors countries with high levels of historical deforestation  Scope – including deforestation only favors countries with high deforestation rates; including degradation favors countries with logging and fuelwood gathering as primary forest emissions;

Advantage/Disadvantage cont’d  Scope cont’d - including maintenance and regrowth of carbon stocks favors countries with low historical emissions and high carbon stocks, as well as countries with net carbon gain in forests  Financial mechanism – depends on structure

Next steps for REDD  Dec 2008 – Poland Conference of the Parties  Dec 2009 – Deadline for establishing Kyoto Protocol successor – Copenhagen Protocol? –Success of REDD is heavily dependent on consensus on comprehensive climate agreement to follow Kyoto Protocol’s 2012 expiration

Thanks for your attention Tracy Johns The Woods Hole Research Center

Compensated Reduction  Amazon Institute of Environmental Research, Environmental Defense, The Woods Hole Research Center  Scale - National level accounting  Baseline – National historical baseline  Scope - Could include degradation; maintenance or regrowth of carbon stocks not included  Financing Mechanism - Market-based approach

PNG Proposal  Scale – National level accounting  Baseline – national historical reference period – at least 5 years  Scope – can include degradation; separate fund for maintenance and growth of carbon stocks  Financing mechanism – market- based approach  Includes “Development Adjustment Factor” applied to baseline to reflect national circumstances

Stock-Flow Approach  The Woods Hole Research Center; based partly on Strassburg Global Baseline Approach  Scale – National-level acounting  Baseline – Global historical baseline  Scope – can include degradation; based on both emissions and carbon stocks  Financial mechanism – could be market or fund-based

Nested Approach  Climate Focus, CATIE, Colombia  Scale – combination of subnational and national accounting  Baseline – project baselines “nested” into future national baseline  Scope – includes degradation; does not include maintenance or regrowth  Financing mechanism – market- based approach

Strassburg Global Baseline Approach  Bernardo Strassburg, University of East Anglia, UK  Scale – national-level accounting  Baseline – global historical baseline  Scope – can include degradation; does not include maintenance or regrowth of carbon stocks  Financial mechanism – could be market or fund-based

Carbon Stock Approach  Climate Focus, Center for International Environmental Law; similar approach favored by India  Scale – national-level accounting  Baseline – based on current carbon stocks, not emissions  Scope – because based on stocks, includes deforestation, degradation, maintenance and regrowth of carbon stocks  Financing Mechanism – market-based approach

Dual Markets Approach  Center for Clean Air Policy; Greenpeace favors a similar approach  Scale – national-level accounting  Baseline – national historical baseline  Scope – Includes degradation; does not include maintenance or regrowth of carbon stocks  Financial mechanism – market/fund hybrid: separate “market” for REDD credits

Brazil Proposal  Scope – National-level accounting  Baseline – modified national historical “reference emission rate”  Scale – Focus on deforestation; does not include maintenance or regrowth of carbon stocks  Financing Mechanism – competitive Fund-based approach