Forest Carbon
Deforestation and other changes in land use, mainly in the tropics, now
account for roughly 20 percent of climate pollution worldwide.
In fact, deforestation does more to deepen the climate crisis than the
world's cars, trucks, planes, and ships combined. If done right, new
strategies to protect and manage forests would help stabilize the Earth’s
climate, alleviate global poverty, improve international security, conserve
treasured natural places, and reduce the cost of climate action.
Climate Advisers is a global leader in developing and analyzing policy
solutions and investment vehicles for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
from the forest sector. We have designed and helped capitalize major
new investment partnerships, including the world's first multilateral fund
to reward developing nations for reducing deforestation rates. We also have
completed a global economic and spacial analysis of the emerging geography
of forest carbon asset supply. In addition, we have led policy
dialogues on forest carbon, bringing business and nonprofit stakeholders
together to craft consensus recommendations.
Recent Work
November 2011
Climate Advisers president Nigel Purvis and Director of Research and Policy Michael Wolosin argue that a new package of foreign aid from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation to Indonesia to support green growth in the clean energy and land use sectors represents an important milestone in Indonesia's own development and a step forward in modernizing U.S. foreign aid programs.
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July 2011
With funding increases becoming politically difficult, other options are needed to increase U.S. policy impacts on reducing tropical deforestation. In a new Discussion Paper jointly sponsored by Resources for the Future and Climate Advisers, authors Michael Wolosin, Anne Riddle, and Daniel Morris propose a "whole-of-government" approach to tropical deforestation. The discussion paper defines the scope and goals of a "whole-of-government" approach, reviews existing programs and coordination, and identifies three major areas where policy adjustments and actions through existing authorities can have immediate and tangible impact on reducing deforestation.
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May 2011
The political landscape for efforts to reduce tropical deforestation has significantly shifted from the 111th to the 112th Congress.
In a new Policy Brief jointly sponsored by Resources for the Future and Climate Advisers, authors Peter Jenkins and Michael Wolosin
present the results and primary insights gained from interviews of 29 key hill staffers of both parties and both chambers
during February of 2011. The brief identifies the motivations behind support for, and the feasibility of, various policy options
to provide the funding streams and attention needed to reduce deforestation in developing countries.
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April 2010
We examine here how the U.S. economy and U.S. households
would be affected if the auction revenues set aside for
tropical forests in Waxman-Markey were to be cut in half
or completely eliminated. Because public funding for tropical
forests would finance programs to prepare nations to participate
in U.S. carbon markets, a decrease in public funding could result
in fewer cost-saving international "offsets". The paper
examines optimistic, medium, and pessimistic offset supply
responses under different levels of public market readiness funding.
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December 2009
Developed by Climate Advisers and Resources for the Future, the Forest
Carbon Index provides data on global, national, and local forest carbon
supply, explicitly taking into account country-specific economic,
biological, and risk factors. The Index brings together 27 datasets
integrated and mapped across approximately 1.5 million locations,
creating the clearest picture yet of how forests are likely to feature
in climate solutions
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More about the Forest Carbon Index »
October 2009
The Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests, co-chaired by John
Podesta and Senator Lincoln Chaffee, is a bipartisan group of leaders
that have issued recommendations on the best means to address tropical
forest conservation as a part of broader U.S. climate change policies.
Climate Advisers served as the Commission's secretariat and provided
critical research and analysis for the Commission's final report.
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More about the Commission »
June 2009
As a result of new climate change policies, by 2015 the U.S. may be
spending up to $11.5 billion per year to help developing nations
reduce tropical deforestation. In a paper for Resources for the Future,
Climate Advisers' Nigel Purvis and Andrew Stevenson argue that Congress
and the Obama administration should create the International Forest
Conservation Corporation (IFCC), a specialized agency with the unique
mandate, authority, and expertise needed to effectively manage this funding.
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