Lessons from the forest & climate debate

Book release on LULUCF from Kyoto to Copenhagen

Forests and forestry in developing countries are major sources of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, but they are carbon dioxide sinks at the same time. They will suffer from increasing temperatures, but they can also help humanity to adapt to climate change. Land use decisions play a pivotal role in climate change and in national development policies.

The book resumes over a decade of policy advice. It starts by focusing the global frameset of forest-related mitigation activities under the Climate Convention. The subsequent chapters shed light on the diverse underlying methodological and economic issues. The final chapter proposes how to collect funds for tasks of global common interest like the reduction of emissions from forests or supporting adaptation to climate change, while at the same time strengthening the commitment of the beneficiaries towards the international climate regime.

The book concludes that forestry as a means of mitigating climate change is special compared to other sectors, and that environmental risks in striking the balance between environmental effectiveness, cost-efficiency and equity are posing important challenges. Besides identifying the key issues in climate forestry, the book offers pragmatic solutions for the integration of forests into international climate policy.

The online version can be downloaded here.