Forest Carbon Finance Summit

Despite widespread acknowledgment of the forest sector’s potential as an immediate and cost-effective means for reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, forest carbon comprises only a fraction of the global carbon market—less than 1%. Given that deforestation and forest degradation account for some 15% to 20% of global GHG emissions and a policy of limiting the rise in global temperature to no more than 2° Celsius entails global reductions on the order of 80% by mid-century, including incentives for the forest sector in climate policy is considered essential by many observers. The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in partnership with the the World Wildlife Fund and Harvard Law School’s Program in International Financial Systems established the Forest Carbon Finance Summit in 2009. The purpose of the summit was to convene leaders in finance, law, business, and NGOs to explore in depth a number of critical topics in forest carbon finance and propose practical solutions. Two summit meetings were held in 2009 and 2010 to address a number of topics including: the technical, methodological, and political barriers to forest carbon projects, particularly those involving reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD); and the ways in which private and public capital may be best mobilized to support reductions in forest sector emissions globally.