Sorting the wood from the trees in climate change

COVERING 30 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, forest ecosystems (including live trees, dead trees, logs and litter, understorey and soil) are a significant component in the global carbon cycle.

Since rising atmospheric carbon dioxide was first observed in the 1970s, scientists have discussed the potential for forests to offset emissions from burning fossil fuels. Key processes proposed include reducing deforestation, one of the main causes of increased carbon dioxide, increasing the area of forest, managing forests and wood products for increased carbon stocks and using wood from sustainably managed forest as a substitute for fossil fuel energy.
While regarded scientifically sound, including forest “sinks” in greenhouse emission reduction targets became contentious in Kyoto Protocol negotiations.

Opponents of forest sinks felt they were a distraction from the “main game” of reducing fossil fuel emissions and that benefits were difficult to measure.

There were physical, technical, social and economic limits on the use of sinks and concerns were raised about the “permanence” of forest sinks.

Proponents considered that reducing deforestation, better managing forests and products and establishing new forests were relatively low-cost ways to offset emissions from fossil fuels and that these activities would have added environmental benefits.

Inclusion of forest sinks towards emission targets and trading arrangements would provide an incentive to improve measurement and provide early benefits that would “buy time” until technological developments in the energy sector become more widely adopted.

The text negotiated in the Kyoto Protocol was therefore a compromise, allowing countries to include carbon dioxide sequestered in new forests established since 1990 towards their emission targets.

Deforestation emissions also had to be accounted, including a relatively high rate of land clearing in the 1990 baseline. Subsequent reduction in land clearing has been a major factor in Australia being able to meet the Kyoto emissions target.

The Age (Melbourne, Australia)