Аннотация:The rules and procedures for the implementation of the Paris Agreement should be developed and adopted in 2018. No one of the existing so far accounting systems under the 1st and 2nd Kyoto protocol commitment periods provide incentives for further actions in forests due to artificial limitations on the accounting. The goal of the Paris Agreement in achieving climate neutrality in the second half of this century and assessing a collective progress towards limiting a global temperature raise, both require a full accounting of reached GHG emission reductions and increase of sinks “as atmosphere sees”.
Furthermore, accounting systems should ensure incentives to allow stakeholders to continue mitigation actions on the permanent base. In order to stimulate mitigation actions and further develop additional measures in forests with decreasing removal trend due to aging (most boreal forests) – the possibility to exclude legacy effects from the accounting should be provided with a “projected forest reference level” considering age structure dynamic and current management practices (Grassi et al., 2018). In order to exclude from the accounting non-anthropogenic emissions and removals the approach of “managed land” proxy should continue under the Paris Agreement framework. With that all emissions and removals within the managed land boundaries are accounted and nothing accounted from unmanaged land. That approach would provide further incentives for countries to increase managed land area, e.g. with creation of new forests (afforestation) and development of the forest protection network on previously unmanaged lands.
High permanence risks for actions in forests could be addressed with both the development of national insurance systems and exclusion of the effects of non-anthropogenic factors (extreme weather events) from the accounting. In latter case all related GHG emissions and subsequent removals are to be excluded. To incentivize improved use of harvest wood products (HWPs) the single common approach for HWPs accounting should be agreed. Currently 3 approaches are recommended (2006 IPCC Guidelines, 2006) with different consideration of imported-exported wood materials. It is important that the chosen approach would provide incentives for countries to better manage wood products on their territory.
Finally, possibility for the accounting of co-benefits of adaptation measures in forests and other land categories would further stimulate such actions.
The careful consideration of all above-stated key aspects in the accounting rules of the Paris Agreement would result in the effective incentivizing system for sustainable management of carbon stocks and GHG removals in forests.
Focus of Research
Accounting rules of the Paris Agreement should provide effective incentivizing system for sustainable management of carbon stocks and GHG removals in forests
Key Challenges
Yes. The risk of non-effective management of carbon stocks and GHG removals in forests. It very much depends on the accounting rules of the Paris Agreement to be agreed this year.
Suggestion to Address these Challenges
To consider key aspects while develop accounting rules - please, see the abstract.