Forests in the Balance Sheet

The paper identifies four key lessons from Annex I countries' experience with LULUCF accounting, arguing that current rules lead to under-reporting of emissions and lack the precision required for carbon markets. It recommends broader reporting requirements, a diversified financing approach for REDD beyond carbon markets, full and consistent data reporting including non-carbon factors, and the implementation of full land use emissions inventories for countries engaging in voluntary REDD Plus activities.

• Current LULUCF rules lead to significant under-reporting of forest-related greenhouse gas emissions because Annex I countries only report on deforestation, afforestation, and reforestation. The author suggests that applying this same limited scope to developing countries would result in similar under-reporting.
• Existing LULUCF accounting systems lack the accuracy and precision necessary for the credible inclusion of land use emissions in emission trading, which could hinder the effectiveness of carbon market mechanisms.
• There is a lack of transparency and consistency in reporting land use change and emissions, and reporting is particularly deficient regarding the impacts of emission-reduction policies on human welfare and biodiversity.
• Greenhouse gas emission inventories are essential for identifying the primary sources of land use emissions and detecting 'leakage' between different land use activities.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Forests in the Balance Sheet. https://www.wri.org/research/forests-balance-sheet

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Forests in the Balance Sheet. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/forests-balance-sheet.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Forests in the Balance Sheet |url=https://www.wri.org/research/forests-balance-sheet |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendforests, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Forests in the Balance Sheet}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/forests-balance-sheet}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }