 Looking toward the seventeenth session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of the Parties (COP-17) in Durban, South Africa, the Government of Norway commissioned Meridian Institute to undertake a new options assessment effort focusing on REDD+ reference levels. This project follows on two previous Norway-sponsored activities (REDD-OAR and REDD+ IOA).
The December 2010 Cancun Agreements mandated that the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) develop modalities relating to forest reference emission levels and forest reference levels for consideration at COP-17. This new options assessment process is intended to help support and inform the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Parties and other stakeholders leading up to and beyond COP-17. The project has occurred in two phases, both resulting in published reports—one in June 2011 and one in November 2011.
REDD+ is Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and includes the conservation and sustainable management of forests as well as the enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Establishing agreed-upon modalities for reference levels is a critical design element of an international REDD+ mechanism, since there will be a need for commonly accepted approaches for estimating benchmarks and measuring emission reductions due to REDD+ efforts. Providing guidelines for the preparation of REDD+ reference levels under the UNFCCC framework is also a needed piece of guidance for negotiators and those working to set national and subnational reference levels.
Meridian Institute has convened and facilitated a group of independent, international expert authors to provide an objective assessment of the key technical and procedural issues related to the development of modalities for REDD+ reference levels in the first report, followed by an assessment of guidelines for the preparation of these reference levels. Meridian also designed and facilitated consultations as well as side events and briefing activities at the UNFCCC conferences.
The phase one report, “Modalities for REDD+ Reference Levels: Technical and Procedural Issues,” was delivered at the UN Climate Change Conference in June 2011 in Bonn, Germany. The phase two report, “Guidelines for REDD+ Reference Levels: Principles and Recommendations,” will be delivered at the COP-17 in Durban, South Africa.
The authors for the two REDD+ Reference Levels reports include:
Arild Angelsen
Professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences & Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Doug Boucher (Co-Coordinator)
Director, Climate Research and Analysis, and Director, Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative, Union of Concerned Scientists
Sandra Brown
Director and Chief Scientist, Ecosystem Services Unit, Winrock International
Valérie Merckx
REDD Team Leader, EU REDD Facility, European Forest Institute
Charlotte Streck (Co-Coordinator)
Director, Climate Focus
Daniel Zarin (Project Leader)
Director of Programs, Climate and Land Use Alliance
Please contact Michael Lesnick of Meridian Institute (mlesnick@merid.org) with any questions.
Click here to download a copy of the Modalities for REDD+ Reference Levels Report.
Click here to download a copy of the Guidelines for REDD+ Reference Levels Report.
The correct citation for the Modalities for REDD+ Reference Levels report is:
Meridian Institute. 2011. “Modalities for REDD+ Reference Levels: Technical and Procedural Issues.” Prepared for the Government of Norway, by Arild Angelsen, Doug Boucher, Sandra Brown, Valérie Merckx, Charlotte Streck, and Daniel Zarin. Available at: http://www.REDD-OAR.org.
ISBN: 978-0-615-49099-1
The correct citation for the Guidelines for REDD+ Reference Levels report is:
Meridian Institute. 2011. “Guidelines for REDD+ Reference Levels: Principles and Recommendations.” Prepared for the Government of Norway, by Arild Angelsen, Doug Boucher, Sandra Brown, Valérie Merckx, Charlotte Streck, and Daniel Zarin. Available at: www.REDD-OAR.org.
ISBN: 978-0-615-56023-6
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