1. Implementing REDD+
Sarah Marlay, US Forest Service, May 9, 2016

2. Seminar Themes What is happening? Impacts of Climate Change
What can we do about it?
Adaptation to, and Mitigation of, Climate Change Through Natural Resources Management
How will we do it?
Institutional Responses to Climate Change

3. Outline The “what” and “how” of REDD+
REDD+’s defining principles under the UNFCCC
Technical and non-technical support for REDD+ Readiness
Sources of financing for REDD+ and related efforts
Non-market-based finance
REDD+ Readiness
Non-market payments for emissions reductions
Market-based finance/payments for emissions reductions
Implications of the Paris Agreement for the future of
International carbon markets
REDD+, forestry, and other land use

4. Definition: REDD+ REDD + Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Conservation
Sustainable management of forests
Enhancement of forest carbon stocks +
REDD+ is an effort to create financial incentives for developing countries to do activities that result in the above.

5. PhASES OF redd+ Phase III Phase I Phase II
Readiness
Development of nationally-appropriate REDD+ strategies
Capacity building
Phase II
Implementation of sub-national demonstration activities
Phase III
Results-based payments (ie, incentives for verified performance)
REDD+ activities should be implemented in phases:
Phase 1/REDD+ Readiness: Development of national strategies/action plans and capacity building
Phase 2: Implementation of national strategies/action plans (ie, capacity building, technology transfer, results-based demonstration activities)
Phase 3: Results-based actions that should be measured, reported, and verified
All phases can happen at once – they are not chronological
(Citation: Slide from John Kerkering, REDD+ Overview Presentation, 2015 – I made slight revisions)
Choice of REDD+ activities will depend on specific drivers of deforestation
Demonstration activities must be “results-based” – they have to result in positive outcomes
The mitigation performance of REDD+ has to be measured and reported by the country, and verified by the UNFCCC Secretariat

6. 5 Elements Needed To receive results-based payments
National REDD+ Strategy (ie, a national plan outlining what will be done to address the drivers)
Should address drivers of deforestation/degradation, land tenure issues, forest governance issues, gender, REDD+ safeguards, full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders
Safeguard Information Systems (ie, a system for providing information on how REDD+ safeguards are being addressed throughout the implementation of REDD+ activities)
These safeguards include: Transparent governance, respect for indigenous peoples, full and effective participation of stakeholders, reducing leakage, etc.
National Forest Reference Emission Levels (ie, emissions baseline against which emissions reductions must be compared)
Each REL is subject to technical assessment by a technical team composted of people from the UNFCCC roster of experts
National Forest Monitoring Systems (ie, a system to monitor AND report on REDD+ activities)
NFMS must use a combination of remote sensing and ground-based forest carbon inventory approaches to estimate GHG emissions
Must take into account the most recent IPCC guidance
Measuring, Reporting and Verification
Encouraged to develop guidance on the effective engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities in monitoring and reporting
Link to “Mapping UNFCCC REDD+” document:

7. (Satellite and land monitoring system)
MRV
Measurement
Reporting
ACTIVITY DATA
(Satellite and land monitoring system)
EMISSION FACTORS
(National Forest
Inventory)
REDD+ GHG Inventory
Measurement:
Activity data = area/year per type of land use change
Emissions factors = coefficients that quantify the emissions or removals per hectare of a given land use
GHG Inventory = assessment of GHG emissions and removals to determine national mitigation performance per year
Reporting = report GHG mitigation performance to the UNFCCC Secretariat
Developing countries need to:
Submit national communications every 4 years
Biennial Update Reports every 2 years
Verification = to independently check the accuracy/reliability of information reported in the GHG inventory
Countries seeking to receive results-based payments should submit a technical annex explaining how the results were calculated, in addition to the other parts of their BURs
(Citation: Slide from John Kerkering, 2015; I slightly modified “V”)
Verification
UNFCCC Secretariat
(Team of Experts)

8. Technical Support for redd+ Readiness

9. Non-technical Support for REDD+ REadiness

10. Types of Financing for REDD+
Non-market-based finance (primarily public financing)
REDD+ Readiness
Non-market payments for emissions reductions
Market-based finance/payments for emissions reductions
= Through the end of 2014, $5.1 billion had been committed to keep threatened forests standing, manage existing landscapes for carbon sequestration, or plant new trees (Ecosystem Marketplace, 2015)

11. REDD+ Readiness
from Ecosystem Marketplace’s 2015 report

12. Non-market-based payments for emissions reductions
Payments flow through bilateral or multilateral results-based agreements
Major donors include:
Norway bilateral agreements
Eg., Brazil ($1 billion), Guyana ($250 million), Indonesia ($1 billion)
REDD Early Movers (Germany and Norway)
World Bank programs
Forest Carbon Partnership Facility ($825 million + $339 pledged)
Readiness Fund ($360 million) = supports national REDD+ readiness in 47 countries by providing grants up to $3.6 million
Carbon Fund ($465 million + $339 million pledged) = results-based payments in up to 18 countries
Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes ($300 million) = supports emissions reductions across the entire landscape in 4 countries (Colombia, Ethiopia, Zambia, possibly Indonesia)
Technical assistance ($75 million)
Results-based payments ($225 million)

14. Market-based payments for emissions reductions
REDD carbon offsets had highest demand, but lowest price (average $3.70/ton) in 2014 = $63 million value for REDD offsets
from Ecosystem Marketplace report, 2015

15. Implications of paris agreement for int’l Carbon markets
Countries can trade Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes either by:
“Cooperative” approach = countries can coordinate trading among themselves, following UNFCCC rules (yet to be established) on accounting
Centralized approach = new trading platform to be administered by UNFCCC Secretariat for transferring emissions reductions between countries
For both, the source country has to transfer its emission reductions to the buying country (ie, no double-counting)

16. Implications of paris agreement for REDD+, Forestry, and other Land Use
Forestry and other land use will have increasing importance globally:
Global targets can only be reached with help from the AFOLU sector
Limiting global warming to 2 degrees (Celsius) above preindustrial levels
Net zero emissions, balancing emissions and removals
Specific provision on REDD+ and forests
Countries encouraged to reserve carbon sinks and reservoirs
Solidifying the existing policy framework for REDD+

17. questions
Sarah E. Marlay