Without a solution to rainforest protection, there is no solution to tackling climate change.. London, UK, 2009.

The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC in 2007 officially recognized the need for policy incentives for the reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). However, concerns that cheap REDD credits could flood the market and undermine the adoption of cleaner technologies have cast doubt on the merits of REDD.

FOR researchers are contributing to this discussion by:

Developing a real options model, where there is an option to invest in less carbon-intensive energy technology and an option to purchase credits on REDD, which can be exercised or not depending on the future evolution of CO2 prices.

In 2008, scenario modeling was used to assess the costs of reducing global deforestation and a range of mechanism designs to combat deforestation was explored. The results were published in Kindermann et al 2008.

Options for international mechanisms were developed for calibrating national scenario baselines and fund allocations through reverse auctions and were presented at a side event at COP 14 in Poznan 2008.

In 2009, under the banner of CC-TAME FOR presented at the UNFCCC COP15 Side Events in Copenhagen, Denmark. See Event Schedule. Highlights included results from an integrated assessment of land-use policies to secure mitigation targets for a livestock sector in transition; and experiences of REDD initiatives and activities in the Congo Basin sub-region.

Additional Material

REDD Policy Brief

FOR is cited in the terrestrial carbon group policy brief on setting reference emission levels.

FOR contributes to the Little REDD Book.