Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S.
International frameworks for climate mitigation that build from national actions have been developed under the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change and advanced most recently through the Paris Climate Agreement. In parallel, sub-national actors have set greenhouse gas (GHG) reducti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe6c2 |
| _version_ | 1797747700380205056 |
|---|---|
| author | Rachel L Lamb George C Hurtt Tee Jay Boudreau Elliott Campbell Edil A Sepúlveda Carlo Hong-Hanh Chu Jennifer de Mooy Ralph O Dubayah Dena Gonsalves Madeleine Guy Nathan E Hultman Shawn Lehman Bennet Leon Andrew J Lister Cary Lynch Lei Ma Christopher Martin Nathan Robbins Alexander Rudee Carlos E Silva Christopher Skoglund Hao Tang |
| author_facet | Rachel L Lamb George C Hurtt Tee Jay Boudreau Elliott Campbell Edil A Sepúlveda Carlo Hong-Hanh Chu Jennifer de Mooy Ralph O Dubayah Dena Gonsalves Madeleine Guy Nathan E Hultman Shawn Lehman Bennet Leon Andrew J Lister Cary Lynch Lei Ma Christopher Martin Nathan Robbins Alexander Rudee Carlos E Silva Christopher Skoglund Hao Tang |
| author_sort | Rachel L Lamb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | International frameworks for climate mitigation that build from national actions have been developed under the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change and advanced most recently through the Paris Climate Agreement. In parallel, sub-national actors have set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and developed corresponding climate mitigation plans. Within the U.S., multi-state coalitions have formed to facilitate coordination of related science and policy. Here, utilizing the forum of the NASA Carbon Monitoring System’s Multi-State Working Group, we collected and reviewed climate mitigation plans for 11 states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative region of the Eastern U.S. For each state we reviewed the (a) policy framework for climate mitigation, (b) GHG reduction goals, (c) inclusion of forest activities in the state’s climate action plan, (d) existing science used to quantify forest carbon estimates, and (e) stated needs for forest carbon monitoring science. Across the region, we found important differences across all categories. While all states have GHG reduction goals and framework documents, nearly three-quarters of all states do not account for forest carbon when planning GHG reductions; those that do account for forest carbon use a variety of scientific methods with various levels of planning detail and guidance. We suggest that a common, efficient, standardized forest carbon monitoring system would provide important benefits to states and the geographic region as a whole. In addition, such a system would allow for more effective transparency and progress tracking to support state, national, and international efforts to increase ambition and implementation of climate goals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05a4b1d4d03f462caf9103187d84ae22 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-05a4b1d4d03f462caf9103187d84ae222023-08-09T14:56:09ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116606300110.1088/1748-9326/abe6c2Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S.Rachel L Lamb0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6237-4778George C Hurtt1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-202XTee Jay Boudreau2Elliott Campbell3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3248-7637Edil A Sepúlveda Carlo4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7650-7970Hong-Hanh Chu5Jennifer de Mooy6Ralph O Dubayah7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1440-6346Dena Gonsalves8Madeleine Guy9Nathan E Hultman10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0483-2210Shawn Lehman11Bennet Leon12Andrew J Lister13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0412-7039Cary Lynch14Lei Ma15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3959-4155Christopher Martin16Nathan Robbins17Alexander Rudee18Carlos E Silva19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0451-9737Christopher Skoglund20Hao Tang21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7935-5848Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaRhode Island Department of Environmental Management , Providence, RI 02908, United States of AmericaMaryland Department of Natural Resources , Annapolis, MD 21401, United States of AmericaSSAI/NASA-GSFC , Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States of AmericaMassachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs , Boston, MA 02114, United States of AmericaDelaware Division of Climate, Coastal, and Energy , Dover, DE 19904, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaRhode Island Department of Environmental Management , Providence, RI 02908, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaCenter for Global Sustainability, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaPennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , Harrisburg, PA 17105, United States of AmericaVermont Department of Environmental Conservation , Montpelier, VT 05620, United States of AmericaUSDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis , York, PA 17402, United States of AmericaConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection , Hartford, CT 06106, United States of America; The Nature Conservancy , 55 Church Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection , Hartford, CT 06106, United States of AmericaMaine Department of Environmental Protection , Augusta, ME 04333, United States of AmericaWorld Resources Institute , Washington, DC 20002, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaNew Hampshire Department of Environmental Services , Concord, NH 03302, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, United States of AmericaInternational frameworks for climate mitigation that build from national actions have been developed under the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change and advanced most recently through the Paris Climate Agreement. In parallel, sub-national actors have set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and developed corresponding climate mitigation plans. Within the U.S., multi-state coalitions have formed to facilitate coordination of related science and policy. Here, utilizing the forum of the NASA Carbon Monitoring System’s Multi-State Working Group, we collected and reviewed climate mitigation plans for 11 states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative region of the Eastern U.S. For each state we reviewed the (a) policy framework for climate mitigation, (b) GHG reduction goals, (c) inclusion of forest activities in the state’s climate action plan, (d) existing science used to quantify forest carbon estimates, and (e) stated needs for forest carbon monitoring science. Across the region, we found important differences across all categories. While all states have GHG reduction goals and framework documents, nearly three-quarters of all states do not account for forest carbon when planning GHG reductions; those that do account for forest carbon use a variety of scientific methods with various levels of planning detail and guidance. We suggest that a common, efficient, standardized forest carbon monitoring system would provide important benefits to states and the geographic region as a whole. In addition, such a system would allow for more effective transparency and progress tracking to support state, national, and international efforts to increase ambition and implementation of climate goals.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe6c2forest carbonclimate action plansgreenhouse gaspolicymitigationclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Rachel L Lamb George C Hurtt Tee Jay Boudreau Elliott Campbell Edil A Sepúlveda Carlo Hong-Hanh Chu Jennifer de Mooy Ralph O Dubayah Dena Gonsalves Madeleine Guy Nathan E Hultman Shawn Lehman Bennet Leon Andrew J Lister Cary Lynch Lei Ma Christopher Martin Nathan Robbins Alexander Rudee Carlos E Silva Christopher Skoglund Hao Tang Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. Environmental Research Letters forest carbon climate action plans greenhouse gas policy mitigation climate change |
| title | Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. |
| title_full | Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. |
| title_fullStr | Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. |
| title_short | Context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub-national climate mitigation planning in the RGGI region of the U.S. |
| title_sort | context and future directions for integrating forest carbon into sub national climate mitigation planning in the rggi region of the u s |
| topic | forest carbon climate action plans greenhouse gas policy mitigation climate change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe6c2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rachelllamb contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT georgechurtt contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT teejayboudreau contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT elliottcampbell contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT edilasepulvedacarlo contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT honghanhchu contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT jenniferdemooy contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT ralphodubayah contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT denagonsalves contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT madeleineguy contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT nathanehultman contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT shawnlehman contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT bennetleon contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT andrewjlister contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT carylynch contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT leima contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT christophermartin contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT nathanrobbins contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT alexanderrudee contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT carlosesilva contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT christopherskoglund contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus AT haotang contextandfuturedirectionsforintegratingforestcarbonintosubnationalclimatemitigationplanningintherggiregionoftheus |