Photo: Sabine Henders
Accounting for carbon leakage from REDD+ are current quantification methods suitable?
Focali Brief 2012:01 by Sabine Henders
Carbon leakage refers to the displacement of greenhouse gas emissions from one place to another due to emission reduction activities. It is caused by a direct or indirect shift of emission-intense activities from within to outside an emissions accounting system.
This Brief This Brief is based on the article: “Forest Carbon Leakage Quantification Methods and Their Suitability for Assessing Leakage in REDD” by Sabine Henders and Madelene Ostwald published in the journal Forests (Vol. 3, issue 1, 2012). The article analyses 34 different quantification methods currently available in the carbon markets and in scientific literature for their sustainability to address leakage from REDD.
Accounting methods used for different leakage types and geographical scales of leakage are examined and the challenge with accounting for leakage beyond national borders is raised, which none of the standards and scientific methods address. This risk to seriously undermine the effectiveness of climate action, both in REDD and other sectors. The lack of methods to quantify international leakage is an important finding from the conducted assessment, which the author of the Brief recommends should be addressed further.
Download the Brief here
Read the article here
