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The Paris Agreement emphasizes limiting global warming to below 2°C, highlighting the role of forest carbon sequestration in mitigating climate change. However, the cost-efficiency of forest carbon projects varies widely across countries and project types.
Key Policy Questions
- What are the primary cost and quantity factors influencing forest carbon sequestration?
- Should the private and non-private benefits of forests be considered?
- Where are the most cost-efficient locations for forest carbon sequestration?
Proposed Framework: A six-factor framework is proposed to assess the cost-efficiency of forest carbon sequestration, considering factors such as land use opportunity cost, labor costs, forest productivity, wildfire risk, and agricultural greenhouse gas avoidance.
Findings
- Conservation is generally more cost-efficient than afforestation due to avoiding emissions from existing carbon stocks.
- The most cost-efficient countries include various regions globally, not just tropical areas.
- Consideration of non-private benefits can significantly alter the cost-efficiency ranking, emphasizing collective action for public benefits.
Recommendations
- Prioritize forest conservation over afforestation to improve cost-efficiency.
- Promote collective action to enhance environmental and social co-benefits of forests.
- Target geographic areas based on cost-efficiency analysis to optimize forest carbon sequestration efforts.