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5.1 Introduction
5.1.1. Scope of the Chapter
Projects that are based on land use, land-use change, and forestry are important
means of mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These projects are the required
approach for putting some parts of the Kyoto Protocol into practice. In this
context, they have special features and raise issues that differ sharply from
those relating to GHG accounting at the national level (see Chapters
2, 3, and 4).
Although experience has shown that many types of LULUCF projects can mitigate
GHG emissions in a cost-effective, measurable, and verifiable manner, there
have been questions about the practicality of including LULUCF projects generally
within the Kyoto Protocol. These concerns center on the permanence, additionality,
leakage, measuring and monitoring, and risks of project-based changes in carbon
stocks or GHG emissions. There are also questions about the degree to which
LULUCF projects can meet tests for sustainable development and compatibility
with national development priorities.
This chapter reviews these project-related issues with two aims in mind. The
first goal is to provided policymakers and others with broad guidance about
the nature of LULUCF projects. What is their potential for meeting national
emission reductions commitments, and with what costs? Are some types of projects
more or less efficient in producing GHG and other socioeconomic and environmental
benefits? How accurately can carbon be measured and monitored, and with what
tradeoffs between accuracy and cost? Will the compliance costs of LULUCF projects
deter potential investors or create biases for large projects at the expense
of small ones? How do LULUCF projects differ from projects in other sectors,
such as energy, with respect to key issues such as additionality, leakage, duration,
and risks? The GHG mitigation effect of LULUCF projects results from "changes
in carbon stocks or GHG emissions;" in this chapter, the terms GHG benefits
or carbon benefits are used as shorthand for this phrase.
Answers to many of the foregoing questions depend on rules and guidelines that
remain to be agreed. The second aim of this chapter, therefore, is to provide
information to help policymakers develop internationally agreed rules or guidelines
concerning a variety of challenging project-specific issues. The chapter presents
and discusses these issues together with relevant scientific information, alternative
options, and the implications of these options.
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