The Role of Terrestrial Carbon in the Climate Change Solution: Where, Why and How -- A Short Guide
What can Copenhagen deliver?
Article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change binds Parties to take precautionary measures “to anticipate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing such measures”. Action on land use (including terrestrial carbon) represents one third of the overall abatement potential in 2030. There is nothing to stop nations committing to comprehensive framework to unleash this potential. Imperfections are no excuse for inaction or short sightedness, but rather a reason for vision and innovation. This is part of implementing a framework that guides us not only through the next five-year commitment period but also through the next thirty years.
This framework would:
1. Include incentives for carbon capture (reforestation, soil management, etc) and carbon storage (avoided emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, etc) in forests and peatlands, starting 2013.
2. Commit to developing the technical capability to robustly include greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration from agriculture and other land uses as soon as possible (aiming for 2013).
3. Agree simplified rules to reward those countries that have taken early action on terrestrial carbon management even before the detailed rules are known.
4. Provide the long-term mandate and financing to finish building the international institutional infrastructure necessary to guide and coordinate the implementation of terrestrial carbon mitigation at the required scale over the next thirty years.