Climate Change and Forests: Emerging Policy and Market Opportunities

Climate change unquestionably has penetrated the world's consciousness. Most of the attention typically goes to the industrial and energy sectors. But agriculture, forestry, and land-use practices also contribute to the problem and thus must be part of the solution. In this detailed volume, international experts explain the links between climate change and forests, highlighting the possible role of carbon sequestration and emissions avoidance in climate policy frameworks.

After framing the forestry topic within the larger context of climate change policy, the contributors analyze the operation and efficacy of market-based mechanisms for forest conservation and climate change. They detail specific projects and draw lessons from past experiences in different locations and consider compensation and incentive options to slow down deforestation. For example, they discuss sequestration rights in Chile, carbon offset programs in Australia and New Zealand, and incentives at all levels of American government. They also examine different voluntary schemes for carbon crediting as well as present at set of tools for use in developing future sequestration and offset programs.