Climate Change Mitigation through Land Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors

The document examines the role of agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) in global GHG mitigation, highlighting the significant potential in developing countries and the technical and political barriers to their inclusion in UNFCCC agreements. It details the limitations of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the ongoing discussions regarding REDD, while providing a specific analysis of Canada's domestic policies and international submissions regarding LULUCF accounting.

• Land-use change, particularly tropical deforestation, is a major driver of global emissions, contributing approximately 20 per cent of global CO2 emissions annually.
• Developing countries bear the vast majority of land-use change and forestry (LUCF) emissions, with their share exceeding 100 per cent of the world total because developed countries have seen emissions reductions in these sectors.
• Mitigation in the agriculture and forestry sectors of developing countries is highly cost-effective, potentially costing one-fourth to one-third of total mitigation across all sectors while providing one-half to two-thirds of estimated emission reductions.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has seen slow uptake of afforestation and reforestation (A/R) projects due to high preparation costs, data collection difficulties, and the temporary nature of credits (tCERs and lCERs).
• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is a key focus for post-2012 negotiations, though disputes remain over the definition of 'forest', the role of indigenous peoples, and whether to use a market-based or fund-based financing approach.
• Technical barriers to including AFOLU in climate agreements include high uncertainty in accounting, the risk of 'leakage' (where emissions are displaced to other areas), and the lack of permanence in carbon sinks due to natural disturbances like fire and pests.
• Canada's LULUCF sector was a net source of 31.3 megatonnes of emissions in 2006, largely driven by forest trends, leading the government to exclude forest management from its Kyoto accounting to avoid the risk of being a net carbon source.
• Canada advocates for a 'forward-looking baseline' approach for forest and agricultural management to better reflect forest dynamics and provide incentives for sustainable land management without punishing countries for natural disturbances.

APA

Murphy, D., De Vit, C., & Nolet, J. (2009). Climate Change Mitigation through Land Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_change_mitigation_land_use.pdf

Chicago

Murphy, Deborah, Caroline De Vit, and Jean Nolet. Climate Change Mitigation through Land Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_change_mitigation_land_use.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Murphy |first1=Deborah |last2=De Vit |first2=Caroline |last3=Nolet |first3=Jean |title=Climate Change Mitigation through Land Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_change_mitigation_land_use.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{murphy2009climate, author = {Murphy, Deborah and De Vit, Caroline and Nolet, Jean}, title = {{Climate Change Mitigation through Land Use Measures in the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_change_mitigation_land_use.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }