Common Resources

RFF Report: An Assessment of U.S. Forest-Climate Assistance

While the impacts of climate change become more obvious almost by the day, comprehensive action by the international community and by the United States seem distant. At the same time, the window for diverting global greenhouse gas emissions towards a two degree Celsius pathway is quickly closing. In my view, one of the only ways […]

RFF POLICY COMMENTARY: The Carbon Footprint of Wood for Bioenergy

This week, the RFF Policy Commentary series is relaunched with an exploration of a controversial topic—carbon emissions from biomass energy. Proponents claim that biomass is an abundant source of energy with no net carbon emissions—a closed carbon loop. Critics argue that that biomass use will directly or indirectly lead to greater carbon emissions, and that […]

The Challenge Of Reducing Deforestation In Indonesia

When it comes to reducing deforestation, Indonesia is a top investment choice. The country has the fastest deforestation rate, with two million hectares cleared every year from 2000 – 2009, a two percent decrease yearly in forested areas. If deforestation is included, Indonesia ranks third in the world in carbon emissions, trailing the United States […]

How Does Congress View Forest Conservation?

Congressional leaders have finally come to an agreement over the debt ceiling. The proposed deal will raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion while cutting $1 trillion in spending over 10 years. Some of those cuts are expected to target environmental programs. Since cap and trade is essentially dead in the United States for the […]

REDD Financing Doesn’t Grow On Trees

As governments tighten their budgets, finance toward development and climate change will be hit. When it comes to funding the Green Climate Fund and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) schemes, the private sector will presumably fill in the gap. In a recent report by IDEAcarbon, analysts concluded that of the $200 million pledged […]

Is The Recent Increase In Deforestation A Threat To REDD?

While international efforts to curb deforestation have been on the rise, recent reports of an increase in deforestation in Brazil, and the signing of Indonesia’s logging moratorium commitment have brought attention squarely back to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). At first blush, these news items seem straightforward, but deeper reading of the activity […]

Does Money Grow on Trees After All?

Consumers. Households. Citizens. Loyal subjects. The American people. The emergence of cap and dividend as a key piece of the Senate climate debate—either as a stand-alone bill or more likely a core principle of the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman process—can be directly traced to increasing awareness of how climate policy impacts the U.S. economy and the average “Joe […]

Running the Numbers on REDD

In the latest installment of RFF’s Weekly Policy Commentary Series RFF Senior Fellow Allen Blackman examines whether programs to incentivize avoiding deforestation and forest degredation will be the cost-effective emission reduction tool many are counting on: An international system that enables countries to earn carbon credits by reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) will almost certainly be a […]

REDD Dawn

COPENHAGEN — If there is one topic at the COP that gets people excited, it is the issue of international forests. Many people I’ve talked to, from delegate members of developing countries to negotiators for major corporations, see a lot of potential for REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation)to have a major impact […]

Curbing Deforestation Emissions: A REDD Primer

A bipartisan group of government, business, and NGO leaders—boasting D.C. star power like John Podesta and Lincoln Chafee—is urging Congress to make tropical forest conservation a key facet of its climate and energy legislation. According to The Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests’ Protecting the Climate Forests, the deforestation and degradation of tropical forests accounts […]