Guest post from Bonn by Miriam Chaum, Economic Policy Fellow, EDF’s Climate & Air Program
Environmental Defense Fund is working to keep rules governing accounting for forest and land use change high on the agenda at the U.N. climate talks continuing here in Bonn, Germany.
It is EDF’s position that currently proposed accounting rules for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) will not create the proper incentives for countries to change behavior from business-as-usual management practices. Our research on forestry and land use identifies the need for:
- Higher quality data
- More comprehensive accounting (such as tracking changes in forests and land use for which countries are not currently held accountable), and
- Clear ambition to reduce emissions from the land use sector.
The goal of reducing emissions or, alternatively, increasing the absorption of greenhouse gases by trees, grass, and soil through good management is included in both the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Accord.
In partnership with colleagues from other non-governmental organizations, Environmental Defense Fund experts presented at a “side event” on forest and land use accounting earlier this week in Bonn. (I blogged last week on this issue from Bonn.) The event, titled “Toward better Land-Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry accounting: Navigating a path from current proposals to robust and transparent accounting,” attracted country negotiators, NGO participants, and United Nations observers.
Panelists included EDF’s own Dr. Jason Funk and (me,) Miriam Chaum, along with Florence Daviet from World Resources Institute and Jagdish Kishwan from the India delegation. Together, we provided a review of the LULUCF negotiations, presented new analysis on the potential for more comprehensive accounting, spoke to possible policy improvements, and offered a view of the issue from the developing world.
A lively discussion followed, moderated by Chris Henschel from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, in which attendees expressed interest in the assumptions underlying EDF’s analysis, inquired about the potential for related economic analyses, and stressed the importance of good accounting rules for land-use emissions from non-human-induced events, like forest fires and pest outbreaks. In the midst of difficult negotiations on this issue, negotiators seemed pleased that EDF had the depth to understand the nuances and was prepared to offer workable solutions.
Many thanks to our side event panelists from outside EDF – Jagdish, Florence and Chris.