Forestry for a low carbon future. Integrating forests and wood products in climate change strategies

Following the introduction, Chapter 2 provides an overview of mitigation in the forest sector, addressing the handling of forests under UNFCCC. Chapters 3 to 5 focus on forest-based mitigation options – afforestation, reforestation, REDD+ and forest management – and Chapters 6 and 7 focus on wood-product based options – wood energy and green building and furnishing. The publication describes these activities in the context of UNFCCC rules, assessing their mitigation potential and economic attrac tiveness as well as opportunities and challenges for implementation. Chapter 8 discusses the different considerations involved in choosing the right mix of options as well as some of the instruments and means for implementation. Chapter 8 also highlights the co-benefits generated by forest-based mitigation and emphasizes that economic assessment of mitigation options needs to take these benefits into account. The concluding chapter assesses national commitments under UNFCCC involving forest miti gation and summarizes the challenges and opportunities

Incorporating Climate Change Impacts in Forest Market Models

Climate change induced by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as fossil fuel combustion, conversion of forest land, agriculture, and industry has emerged as one of the most compelling issues of our time. Forests can play a central role in emissions abatement efforts through afforestation, improved forest management, and utilization of biomass for energy production. Identifying effective mitigation opportunities is difficult in that it involves a complex interaction between shifts in forest investment, harvest rates, and utilization as well as the associated market responses via prices and trade levels. Forest sector models are being increasingly utilized to identify efficient policy signals that reduce GHG emissions levels to meet both domestic and international climate change goals. Their ability to simulate climate change policies vary as they differ in geographic scope, intertemporal dynamics, product incorporation, and forest growth representation. First, we summarize an array of studies linking commonly applied forest sector models with vegetation models projections of climate change impacts. We then discuss issues that may influence a model’s ability to simulate a policy or impact of a changing climate on forests. We conclude with suggestions for future modeling research challenges and opportunities