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4.1. Introduction and Context
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Figure 4-1: Illustration of questions that
arise from text of Article 3.4 of Kyoto Protocol. Numbers in parentheses
indicate sections of this Special Report where the questions are discussed.
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The Kyoto Protocol assigns amounts of GHG emissions to the countries listed
in Annex B. Under Article 3.4 of the Protocol, Parties may add to or subtract
from those assigned amounts GHG emissions by sources and removals by sinks that
result from "additional" activities in agricultural soils, land-use change,
and forestry. Decisions about which additional activities will be considered
under Article 3.4 have not yet been made; these decisions are partly related
to definitions adopted under Article 3.3 because in this context the term "additional"
means activities that are in addition to ARD. Some key policy choices raised
by Article 3.4 are illustrated in Figure 4-1 (note
that numbers in parentheses indication the section in this report in which respective
questions are most extensively discussed). This chapter presents scientific
and technical information that may help inform those choices. There are also
choices to be made on accounting rules (options are discussed in Chapter
2), which will affect how the adjustments are to be calculated. Some of
the questions posed in Article 3.4 are more fully addressed in other chapters
of this Special Report.
This chapter does not limit its consideration to practices or regions that
are exclusively of interest to countries that have Kyoto Protocol commitments
during the first commitment period. Subsequent periods may include a wider range
of countries, and some countries currently outside Annex B may make voluntary
commitments or be drawn into land-use activities under Article 12, if that is
permitted.
We use the term "land use" to cover the entire range of direct management activities
that affect agricultural soils, result in land-use change, alter forest management,
or affect the long-term storage of carbon-containing products. All such activities
are implicitly "human-induced." It is not clear that all measurable changes
in carbon stocks are "directly" human-induced-a qualifier that appears in Article
3.3 but not in Article 3.4. Chapter 2 discusses the implications
of the direct versus indirect distinction.
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