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Designing a LULUCF pillar that works for forests and climate

Journal article published in 2015 by Martin Nesbit, Kamila Paquel, Anne Marechal, Andrea Illes, Ben Allen
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Preprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Postprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Published version: policy unknown

Abstract

This report was commissioned by the forest and rights NGO Fern. It develops some proposals for how best to include LULUCF emissions and removals in the EU’s climate target framework. The sectors covered by LULUCF – mainly forestry and agriculture – have some special characteristics which need to be borne in mind by policymakers. We outline first some of the background on LULUCF policy, in particular the context of the EU’s contribution to the COP 21 negotiations at Paris and the future implementation of its decisions, before identifying some of those critically important special aspects that policy on LULUCF needs to address. We then set out some key criteria for evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of options for the inclusion of LULUCF, focusing on climate and wider environmental integrity. On this basis, we explain why it is important to tackle LULUCF in a separate instrument, rather than combining it with other sectors currently covered by the EU’s Effort Sharing Decision, and identify some possible approaches to the design of such a separate LULUCF pillar. These are then assessed against our key criteria. On the basis of our analysis, we recommend a design based on a stand-alone LULUCF regime, covering the net carbon sink in all LULUCF sectors, with participation initially confined to those Member States for whom LULUCF emissions represent a significant part of their emissions, with a number of further policy features designed to encourage ambition and ensure environmental integrity.