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In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Meaning of Forest Carbon Accounting 2. Objectives of Forest Carbon Accounting 3. Types 4. Principles.
Meaning of Forest Carbon Accounting:
Carbon accounting is the practice of making scientifically robust and verifiable measurements of GHG emissions. Forests play an important role in the global carbon balance. As both carbon sources and sinks, they have the potential to form an important component in efforts to combat global climate change.
Accounting for the carbon within forest ecosystems and changes in carbon stocks resulting from human activities is a necessary step towards the better representation of forests in climate change policy at regional, national and global scales.
Although characteristics of forests have been recorded for numerous historical purposes, accounting for carbon is a more recent addition to forest inventories. This follows the growing need to quantify the stocks, sources and sinks of carbon in the context of anthropogenic impacts on the global climate.
Historically, forest inventories recorded stand structure, age, growth rate, biomass accumulation and the wood densities of tree species. These have served both commercial purposes, such as determining merchantable timber volumes and use in the paper and pulp industry, as well as national or regional planning purposes, such as creating forest and land use inventories for land-use permits, land-use plans and agricultural expansion. In combination with substantial body of forest science research literature, the Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) of FAO and similar forest inventories provide the background for carbon accounting.
Objectives of Forest Carbon Accounting:
Forest carbon accounting identifies the carbon-density of areas, providing information for low carbon impact land use planning. It prepares territories for accounting and reporting of emissions from the forestry sector. It allows comparison of the climate change impact of the forestry sector relative to other sectors, as well as allowing comparison between territories. Finally, it enables trade of project emission reductions on carbon markets and for emission reductions to be included in policy targets.
Types of Forest Carbon Accounting:
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The forestry sector plays a vital role in the global balance of GHGs. Deforestation alone accounts for approximately 20 per cent of anthropogenic emissions and the forestry sector represents upwards of 50 per cent of global greenhouse gas mitigation potential (IPCC 2007).
As forests rise up the climate change agenda, three types of forest carbon accounting have developed:
i. Stock accounting,
ii. Emission accounting, and
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iii. Project emission reductions accounting.
i. Stock Accounting:
Stock accounting assesses the magnitude of carbon stored in forest ecosystems at a single point in time. Forest carbon stock accounting often forms a starting point for emissions and project level accounting. Establishing the terrestrial carbon stock of a territory and average carbon stocks for particular land uses, stock accounting allows carbon-dense areas to be prioritised in regional land use planning. An early form of forest carbon accounting, emissions and emission reductions accounting have evolved from the principles for stock accounting.
ii. Emissions Accounting:
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Emissions accounting assesses the net greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere resulting from forests. Emissions accounting is necessary to assess the scale of emissions from the forestry sector relative to other sectors. It also aids realistic goal-setting for GHG emissions targets.
Under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, countries are mandated to undertake some land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) carbon accounting. With the significant portion of developing country emissions arising from the LULUCF sector, the forestry sector is likely to play a prominent role in climate change strategies in these countries.
iii. Project Emission Reductions Accounting:
Emission reductions accounting assesses the decrease in emissions from project or policy activities, often so that they can be traded. Carbon accounting for forestry project emission reductions is required for both projects undertaken under the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol and the voluntary carbon markets.
Both necessitate good carbon accounting to ensure that emissions reductions are real, permanent and verifiable. For projects to generate tradable emission reductions, accounting methods between countries, regions and projects must be standardised in both developed and developing countries.
Principles of Forest Carbon Accounting:
i. Best Methods of Accounting:
The adopted practice in forest carbon accounting must be appropriate. In particular, transparency in methods and accuracy and precision in accounting promotes better understanding, legitimacy and trust which are critical for both public and political acceptance of resultant estimates. A basic knowledge of the principles underlying forest carbon accounting is also beneficial. Understanding biomass dynamics and flows between carbon pools in forest ecosystems enables more effective accounting.
ii. Estimation of Biomass Stock:
Forest biomass is organic matter resulting from primary production through photosynthesis minus consumption through respiration and harvest. Assessment of biomass provides information on the structure and functional attributes of a forest and is used to estimate the quantity of timber, fuel and fodder components.
With approximately 50 per cent of dry forest biomass comprised of carbon, biomass assessment also illustrates the amount of carbon that may be lost or sequestered under different forest management regimes. Carbon is lost to the atmosphere as CO2. To convert carbon in biomass to CO2, the tons of carbon are multiplied by the ratio of the molecular weight of carbon dioxide to the atomic weight of carbon (44/12). Estimating the biomass density of forest components is the first step in forest carbon accounting.
iii. Approaches to Emission Accounting:
Although many natural processes lead to emissions and removals of GHGs (fires, insect attacks and local climate variability), anthropogenic activities such as slash and bum, fire management and harvesting have accelerated the release of GHGs from forests. These forest management practices affect the balance of emissions into the atmosphere through biomass fluctuation, soil and litter disturbance.
The purpose of emissions accounting is to quantify the exchange of GHGs between the atmosphere, terrestrial vegetation and soils through photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition and combustion. There are two main approaches to emissions accounting: the inventory approach and the activity-based approach, which are supported under IPCC guidance based on the assumption that the flows of GHGs to or from the atmosphere are equal to changes in carbon stocks in the biomass and soils.
Inventory approach measures the difference in carbon stocks averaged between two points in time. It is also called periodic accounting or stock-difference approach. Measurement of stock change in this way can cover large areas and a variety of species and site conditions.
The inventory-based system also captures non-linear changes in carbon stocks, for example biomass accumulation through growth. However, relying on the addition of carbon pools and assessments conducted in this way often leaves out smaller biomass components such as leaf biomass, ground vegetation and litter.
Where,
ΔC = carbon stock change in tons C per year
Ct1 = carbon stock at time t1 in tons C
Ct2 = carbon stock at time t2 in tons C
The activity-based approach estimates the net balance of additions and removals from a carbon pool. It is also called the gain-loss or flux approach. This method is useful where individual carbon pools are difficult to measure and is less susceptible to short-term variation in carbon stocks.
Where,
A = area of land in ha
CI = rate of gain of carbon in tons C per ha per year
CL = rate of loss of carbon in tons C per ha per year
Accounting for Emission Reductions:
It is most commonly required at the project level but are also relevant when policy targets must be met. Where forestry carbon projects generate emission reductions, these can be traded as offsets either under Kyoto Protocol or on the voluntary carbon markets.
It requires and understanding of a number of supplementary principles- the complexities of baseline establishment, demonstration of addionality, issues of leakage and the permanence of emissions reductions. These principles are blamed for the limited demand and limited inclusion of the forestry sector in carbon trading mechanisms to date.
iv. Practice of Forest Carbon Accounting:
The practice of forest carbon accounting requires clear identification of the accounting boundary in both space and time. Stratifying the forest into areas with similar carbon characteristics further improves the accuracy of carbon accounting. Data for accounting can be gathered from a variety of sources including existing secondary data, remotely sensed data and primary data through field surveys.
The amount of data from each source depends on the quality of the source as well as the trade-offs that must be made between accounting accuracy and costs of resources and time. All forest carbon accounting estimates contain uncertainty. Practitioners should identify, minimise where possible, and quantify this uncertainty through statistical analysis, published information and expert judgement.
v. Guidance and Tools for Forest Carbon Accounting:
Forest carbon accounting guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has become the primary source of information for methods, accounting equations and parameters. A number of tools for forest carbon accounting have emerged which vary in terms of geological coverage, forestry activities and the carbon pools accounted for, as well as the level of data input required.
Regional Tools and Models from Developed Countries:
USA (COLE, the Carbon On-Line Estimator, CTCC, FORCARB, LMS), United Kingdom (CARBINE, C-Flow, C-Sort), Australia (CAM-for), Europe (EFI-SCEN)
Tools and Models for Wider Geographical Areas:
Canada (CBM-CFS3), CO2FIX, Graz/GORCAM, CENTURY, BIOME-BGC, AR, TARAM, ENCO-FOR
Tool for Commercial and Service Companies:
Bilan Carbone.
vi. Carbon Footprint and Carbon Taxation:
Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere each year by a person, family, building, organization or company. A person’s carbon footprint includes greenhouse gas emissions from fuel that an individual bums directly, such as by heating a home or riding in a car.
It also includes greenhouse gases that come from producing the goods or services that the individual uses, including emissions from power plants that make electricity, factories that make products and landfills where trash gets sent. A carbon footprint is a greenhouse gas emissions inventory which captures all business activities resulting in emissions.
It can assist organisations to identify and target resource inefficiencies and be used to report the impact of products and services on clients and stakeholders. It deals with greenhouse quantification and carbon management strategies within various industry sector.
Traditionally, industry has used Return on Investment (ROI) to inform business decisions. Establishing a price on carbon changes the variables within the ROI equation and introduces accountability to non-financial metrics. Therefore, ROI strategies should consider the return in terms of carbon cost savings and this should introduce a price incentive for lower emissions goods and services. Electricity consumption, natural gas and LPG consumption, transport fuels, waste to landfill, flights, refrigerant consumption, etc., are counted in the carbon footprint data informing the cost forecasts.
A carbon tax is a specific tax on the consumption of goods which cause carbon dioxide emissions. It mandates a specific price on carbon and revenue generated can be spent on environmental initiatives. A carbon tax sets a price on carbon emissions, but it cannot guarantee the level of emission reduction. As countries have existing tax regimes, a carbon tax may be more straightforward to administer within an individual country. However, it would be challenging to implement internationally.