REDD credits in a global carbon market: Options and impacts

A number of issues have to be addressed if reducing emissions from deforestation (REDD) credits are to be included in a future global carbon market. This report focuses on a subset of these: the implications of different rules for REDD credit inclusion and global commitments (emission caps) on the carbon price, other mitigation efforts, and the international financial REDD flows, and the reductions in forest emissions. This is done by running 10 scenarios for different rules of REDD credits inclusion and for different global emission caps, using the FAIR model.

Larger global emission reductions and lower overall abatement costs can be achieved if REDD credits are included in a future carbon market.  Inclusion of REDD credits without any adjustments in the global cap will lower carbon prices significantly and cause crowding out. The cap must move towards the 2 degrees climate target if REDD inclusion is to maintain high carbon prices and strong incentives for emissions reductions in other sectors. At the same time, reaching the 2 degree target without full REDD inclusion will increase global mitigation costs by more than 50%.

Authors

Arild Angelsen, Caroline Wang Gierløff, Angelica Mendoza Beltrán and Michel den Elzen

Specifications

Publication title
REDD credits in a global carbon market: Options and impacts
Publication date
17 September 2014
Publication type
Publication
Publication language
English
Product number
1583