What is REDD+?

    
The annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate talks have started today in Durban, South Africa. The 17^th Conference of the Parties (COP17) will last two weeks with the aim to facilitate a global agreement to tackle anthropogenic climate change. Forests are one of the main agenda items for the COP in the form of  Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). This post aims to provide a short introduction to REDD, the world of forests and deforestation from an international policy perspective.

According to the definition of the UN-REDD Program, REDD is “an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development”.  REDD gradually evolved to REDD+ where the plus indicates “the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks”. REDD was first introduced to the agenda of the UNFCCC in December 2005 at its eleventh session. As a result of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the UNFCCC entered into force in 1994, signed by 194 countries, with the ultimate goal of “stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system.

The Little REDD Book, published by the Global Canopy Programme in 2008, is one of the best introductory readings if someone wants to dig a little more into the world of REDD(+). REDD(+) is a complex mechanisms for which a number of issues are still actively debated. Drawn from the Little REDD Book I will briefly discuss some of the most important aspects and challenges of REDD(+), which also shows the complexity of the subject.

Scope: Concerns the activities included (REDD or REDD+), participating countries, and different carbon pools such as above ground biomass, below ground biomass, soil carbon and/or all terrestrial carbon.

Reference levels: Relates to the measurement of emission reductions from REDD(+). If REDD(+) used for meeting binding or voluntary emission reduction commitments of countries there must be a system to measure exact emission reductions. Thus reference levels basically define “the period and scale against which the activities within scope are measured”. Options currently discuss include sub-national, national or global (in terms of scale) and historic baseline, current or projected baseline (in terms of reference period).

Distribution: relates to “how the benefits of those reductions will be allocated”.  While the majority of UNFCCC countries promote “compensation directly in line with a [country]’s own actions” others suggest that “some of these benefits should be redistributed to [countries] other than those generating the emissions reductions” (e.g. “allocate funds to historically low emitters who may emit at some point into the future” as a preventive measure).

Financing: addresses the “where the money comes from” question. Possible alternatives include financing through a voluntary fund, Official Development Assistance (ODA) – although most developing countries call for “new and additional funds”, a direct-market based mechanism (where emission reductions are traded on the market, or a market-linked mechanism. (A basic understanding of emissions trading and markets may help grasping this topic better.)

  

While the exact details of a REDD(+) mechanism are still debated, countries of the UNFCCC agree that a mechanisms must be set up to reduce emissions from forests, a sector that amounts to almost 20% of global warming emissions and thus can clearly not be ignored. Finding a system, however, that is suitable and acceptable to all the 194 member countries of the UNFCCC is challenging. There are, nonetheless, initiatives already in place (such as the UN-REDD Programme or the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility) with the aim to pilot REDD+ projects and prepare developing rainforest countries (with appropriate policies and technologies) for the implementation of a future REDD+ mechanism.