The contribution of forest carbon credit projects to addressing the climate change challenge

van der Gaast W, Sikkema R, Vohrer M

ABSTRACT：This article addresses the question of how forestry projects, given the recently improved standards for the accounting of carbon sequestration, can benefit from existing and emerging carbon markets in the world. For a long time, forestry projects have been set up for the purpose of generating carbon credits. They were surrounded by uncertainties about the permanence of carbon sequestration in trees, potential replacement of deforestation due to projects (leakage), and how and what to measure as sequestered carbon. Through experience with Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) forestry projects,albeit limited, and with forestry projects in voluntary carbon markets, considerable improvements have been made with accounting of carbon sequestration in forests,resulting in a more solid basis for carbon credit trading. The scope of selling these credits exists both in compliance markets, although currently with strong limitations, and in voluntary markets for offsetting emissions with carbon credits.Improved carbon accounting methods for forestry investments can also enhance the scope for forestry in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries must prepare under the Paris Agreement.

森林碳汇项目对应对气候变化挑战的贡献

van der Gaast W, Sikkema R, Vohrer M

摘要：本文探讨的问题是，鉴于最近碳固存核算标准的改进，林业项目如何从全球现有和新兴的碳市场中获益。长期以来，林业项目都是以产生碳信用额为目的。这些项目在以下方面存在不确定性：树木碳固存的永久性、项目可能导致的毁林替代（泄漏）以及如何衡量固存的碳以及衡量哪些碳。通过联合执行（JI）和清洁发展机制（CDM）林业项目（尽管有限）以及自愿碳市场林业项目的经验，在森林碳固存的核算方面已经取得了相当大的进步，为碳信用交易奠定了更坚实的基础。这些信用额的销售范围既包括履约市场（尽管目前有很大的局限性），也包括用碳信用额抵消排放的自愿市场。改进林业投资的碳核算方法，还可以扩大林业在各国根据《巴黎协定》必须准备的 "国家确定的贡献"（NDCs）中的范围。

文章来源：van der Gaast, W., Sikkema, R., & Vohrer, M. (2018). The contribution of forest carbon credit projects to addressing the climate change challenge. Climate Policy, 18(1), 42-48.