Implementing REDD+ Sarah Marlay, US Forest Service, May 9, 2016

Seminar Themes What is happening? Impacts of Climate Change What can we do about it? Adaptation to, and Mitigation of, Climate Change Through Natural Resources Management How will we do it? Institutional Responses to Climate Change

Outline The “what” and “how” of REDD+ REDD+’s defining principles under the UNFCCC Technical and non-technical support for REDD+ Readiness Sources of financing for REDD+ and related efforts Non-market-based finance REDD+ Readiness Non-market payments for emissions reductions Market-based finance/payments for emissions reductions Implications of the Paris Agreement for the future of International carbon markets REDD+, forestry, and other land use

Definition: REDD+ REDD + Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Conservation Sustainable management of forests Enhancement of forest carbon stocks + REDD+ is an effort to create financial incentives for developing countries to do activities that result in the above.

PhASES OF redd+ Phase III Phase I Phase II Readiness Development of nationally-appropriate REDD+ strategies Capacity building Phase II Implementation of sub-national demonstration activities Phase III Results-based payments (ie, incentives for verified performance) REDD+ activities should be implemented in phases: Phase 1/REDD+ Readiness: Development of national strategies/action plans and capacity building Phase 2: Implementation of national strategies/action plans (ie, capacity building, technology transfer, results-based demonstration activities) Phase 3: Results-based actions that should be measured, reported, and verified All phases can happen at once – they are not chronological (Citation: Slide from John Kerkering, REDD+ Overview Presentation, 2015 – I made slight revisions) Choice of REDD+ activities will depend on specific drivers of deforestation Demonstration activities must be “results-based” – they have to result in positive outcomes The mitigation performance of REDD+ has to be measured and reported by the country, and verified by the UNFCCC Secretariat

5 Elements Needed To receive results-based payments National REDD+ Strategy (ie, a national plan outlining what will be done to address the drivers) Should address drivers of deforestation/degradation, land tenure issues, forest governance issues, gender, REDD+ safeguards, full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders Safeguard Information Systems (ie, a system for providing information on how REDD+ safeguards are being addressed throughout the implementation of REDD+ activities) These safeguards include: Transparent governance, respect for indigenous peoples, full and effective participation of stakeholders, reducing leakage, etc. National Forest Reference Emission Levels (ie, emissions baseline against which emissions reductions must be compared) Each REL is subject to technical assessment by a technical team composted of people from the UNFCCC roster of experts National Forest Monitoring Systems (ie, a system to monitor AND report on REDD+ activities) NFMS must use a combination of remote sensing and ground-based forest carbon inventory approaches to estimate GHG emissions Must take into account the most recent IPCC guidance Measuring, Reporting and Verification Encouraged to develop guidance on the effective engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities in monitoring and reporting Link to “Mapping UNFCCC REDD+” document: http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/unfccc_redd_maps_may_19_2014.pdf

(Satellite and land monitoring system) MRV Measurement Reporting ACTIVITY DATA (Satellite and land monitoring system) EMISSION FACTORS (National Forest Inventory) REDD+ GHG Inventory Measurement: Activity data = area/year per type of land use change Emissions factors = coefficients that quantify the emissions or removals per hectare of a given land use GHG Inventory = assessment of GHG emissions and removals to determine national mitigation performance per year Reporting = report GHG mitigation performance to the UNFCCC Secretariat Developing countries need to: Submit national communications every 4 years Biennial Update Reports every 2 years Verification = to independently check the accuracy/reliability of information reported in the GHG inventory Countries seeking to receive results-based payments should submit a technical annex explaining how the results were calculated, in addition to the other parts of their BURs (Citation: Slide from John Kerkering, 2015; I slightly modified “V”) Verification UNFCCC Secretariat (Team of Experts)

Technical Support for redd+ Readiness

Non-technical Support for REDD+ REadiness

Types of Financing for REDD+ Non-market-based finance (primarily public financing) REDD+ Readiness Non-market payments for emissions reductions Market-based finance/payments for emissions reductions = Through the end of 2014, $5.1 billion had been committed to keep threatened forests standing, manage existing landscapes for carbon sequestration, or plant new trees (Ecosystem Marketplace, 2015)

REDD+ Readiness from Ecosystem Marketplace’s 2015 report

Non-market-based payments for emissions reductions Payments flow through bilateral or multilateral results-based agreements Major donors include: Norway bilateral agreements Eg., Brazil ($1 billion), Guyana ($250 million), Indonesia ($1 billion) REDD Early Movers (Germany and Norway) World Bank programs Forest Carbon Partnership Facility ($825 million + $339 pledged) Readiness Fund ($360 million) = supports national REDD+ readiness in 47 countries by providing grants up to $3.6 million Carbon Fund ($465 million + $339 million pledged) = results-based payments in up to 18 countries Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes ($300 million) = supports emissions reductions across the entire landscape in 4 countries (Colombia, Ethiopia, Zambia, possibly Indonesia) Technical assistance ($75 million) Results-based payments ($225 million)

Market-based payments for emissions reductions REDD carbon offsets had highest demand, but lowest price (average $3.70/ton) in 2014 = $63 million value for REDD offsets from Ecosystem Marketplace report, 2015

Implications of paris agreement for int’l Carbon markets Countries can trade Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes either by: “Cooperative” approach = countries can coordinate trading among themselves, following UNFCCC rules (yet to be established) on accounting Centralized approach = new trading platform to be administered by UNFCCC Secretariat for transferring emissions reductions between countries For both, the source country has to transfer its emission reductions to the buying country (ie, no double-counting)

Implications of paris agreement for REDD+, Forestry, and other Land Use Forestry and other land use will have increasing importance globally: Global targets can only be reached with help from the AFOLU sector Limiting global warming to 2 degrees (Celsius) above preindustrial levels Net zero emissions, balancing emissions and removals Specific provision on REDD+ and forests Countries encouraged to reserve carbon sinks and reservoirs Solidifying the existing policy framework for REDD+

questions Sarah E. Marlay sarahemarlay@fs.fed.us