How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement?
Hundreds of projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhance carbon stocks (REDD+) are implemented globally, many by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or for-profit companies. Yet, at the global level, the Paris Agreement focuses on jurisdictional (national and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5669 |
| _version_ | 1797747042361016320 |
|---|---|
| author | Stibniati S Atmadja Amy E Duchelle Veronique De Sy Vivi Selviana Mella Komalasari Erin O Sills Arild Angelsen |
| author_facet | Stibniati S Atmadja Amy E Duchelle Veronique De Sy Vivi Selviana Mella Komalasari Erin O Sills Arild Angelsen |
| author_sort | Stibniati S Atmadja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hundreds of projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhance carbon stocks (REDD+) are implemented globally, many by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or for-profit companies. Yet, at the global level, the Paris Agreement focuses on jurisdictional (national and subnational) REDD+. We ask: (1) How much can REDD+ projects contribute to achieving national and international climate objectives? (2) What are the issues in integrating REDD+ projects into national carbon accounting? Our snapshot of 377 REDD+ projects covering 53 million ha in 56 countries is based on data from the International Database on REDD+ Projects (ID-RECCO) supplemented with new data on projects’ accounting methods. The number of new REDD+ projects declined steadily from 45 new projects in 2011 to five in 2019. We examined 161 certified projects that started between 2007 and 2017; 96 of these could sell carbon credits in voluntary carbon markets by 2020 and spent on average 4.7 (± 2.4) years between project start and sales in voluntary carbon markets. Globally, REDD+ projects claim to reduce an average of 3.67 tCO2e/ha annually. This figure - combined with projects limited coverage - implies that projects need to be upscaled more than 40x to fulfil the potential contribution of tropical and subtropical forests towards limiting global warming to well below 2oC. Compared to the national carbon accounting methods, most projects in Colombia, Indonesia and Peru (63 of 86) use at least one different carbon accounting parameter. Carbon accounting inconsistencies across levels need to be addressed. Overall, the argument for REDD+ projects lies in the emissions reductions they can achieve, diversifying participation in REDD+ and providing non-carbon benefits to local communities, potentially leading to broader support for climate action. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:45:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dbc74250e85d42a286bfe676c87260c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:45:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-dbc74250e85d42a286bfe676c87260c02023-08-09T15:28:07ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117404403810.1088/1748-9326/ac5669How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement?Stibniati S Atmadja0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1701-7883Amy E Duchelle1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8810-1054Veronique De Sy2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3647-7866Vivi Selviana3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2118-4067Mella Komalasari4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7817-5818Erin O Sills5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8289-0489Arild Angelsen6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6037-6849Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) , Bonn, Germany; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement , Montpellier, FranceCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) , Bogor, IndonesiaLaboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research , Wageningen, The NetherlandsCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) , Bogor, IndonesiaCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) , Bogor, IndonesiaDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, NC State University , Raleigh, NC, United States of AmericaSchool of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) , Ås, NorwayHundreds of projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhance carbon stocks (REDD+) are implemented globally, many by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or for-profit companies. Yet, at the global level, the Paris Agreement focuses on jurisdictional (national and subnational) REDD+. We ask: (1) How much can REDD+ projects contribute to achieving national and international climate objectives? (2) What are the issues in integrating REDD+ projects into national carbon accounting? Our snapshot of 377 REDD+ projects covering 53 million ha in 56 countries is based on data from the International Database on REDD+ Projects (ID-RECCO) supplemented with new data on projects’ accounting methods. The number of new REDD+ projects declined steadily from 45 new projects in 2011 to five in 2019. We examined 161 certified projects that started between 2007 and 2017; 96 of these could sell carbon credits in voluntary carbon markets by 2020 and spent on average 4.7 (± 2.4) years between project start and sales in voluntary carbon markets. Globally, REDD+ projects claim to reduce an average of 3.67 tCO2e/ha annually. This figure - combined with projects limited coverage - implies that projects need to be upscaled more than 40x to fulfil the potential contribution of tropical and subtropical forests towards limiting global warming to well below 2oC. Compared to the national carbon accounting methods, most projects in Colombia, Indonesia and Peru (63 of 86) use at least one different carbon accounting parameter. Carbon accounting inconsistencies across levels need to be addressed. Overall, the argument for REDD+ projects lies in the emissions reductions they can achieve, diversifying participation in REDD+ and providing non-carbon benefits to local communities, potentially leading to broader support for climate action.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5669natural climate solutionsclimate change mitigationforest carbonvoluntary carbon marketREDD+ benefitsafforestation reforestation |
| spellingShingle | Stibniati S Atmadja Amy E Duchelle Veronique De Sy Vivi Selviana Mella Komalasari Erin O Sills Arild Angelsen How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? Environmental Research Letters natural climate solutions climate change mitigation forest carbon voluntary carbon market REDD+ benefits afforestation reforestation |
| title | How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? |
| title_full | How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? |
| title_fullStr | How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? |
| title_short | How do REDD+ projects contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement? |
| title_sort | how do redd projects contribute to the goals of the paris agreement |
| topic | natural climate solutions climate change mitigation forest carbon voluntary carbon market REDD+ benefits afforestation reforestation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5669 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stibniatisatmadja howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT amyeduchelle howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT veroniquedesy howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT viviselviana howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT mellakomalasari howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT erinosills howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement AT arildangelsen howdoreddprojectscontributetothegoalsoftheparisagreement |