How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects

The document outlines how forests influence climate stability through four non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols. It argues that ignoring these effects leads to an undervaluation of tropical forests, as tropical deforestation contributes 50 percent more to global warming than carbon-only metrics suggest. The authors propose six specific mechanisms for UNFCCC Parties to integrate these effects into official processes, including GHG inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ reporting, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC's 7th Assessment Report cycle.

• Forests influence global and local temperatures and rainfall patterns through four primary non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo (reflection of solar energy), evapotranspiration (cooling via moisture release), surface roughness (affecting wind and heat lift), and aerosols (particles affecting cloud color and atmospheric chemistry).
• The impact of forest loss on global warming is significantly higher than carbon-based calculations indicate for tropical regions, where deforestation contributes 50 percent more to global warming than counting carbon alone.
• Deforestation has severe regional and local consequences, including the disruption of 'precipitation sheds' that regulate rainfall across national borders—such as the Brazilian Amazon's effect on Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina—and significant increases in local extreme temperatures.
• Current carbon markets and climate policies systematically undervalue the global cooling effect of tropical forests, which can lead to injustices by overstating the value of high-latitude forests and exposing vulnerable populations to increased heat stress.
• The authors propose six ways for UNFCCC Parties to act on non-carbon benefits: expanding GHG inventories, including biophysical effects in NDCs, incorporating benefits into REDD+ reporting and finance, integrating them into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and funding requests, introducing them into the Global Stocktake, and including them in the IPCC's 7th Assessment Report cycle.
• Existing UNFCCC frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement and the Warsaw Framework for REDD+, already provide the legal and procedural scope to include non-carbon benefits, with the Paris Agreement specifically referencing "non-carbon benefits" in Article 5.

APA

Culbertson, M., Seymour, F., & Wolosin, M. (n.d.). How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/how-unfccc-parties-can-act-forests-non-carbon-climate-effects.pdf

Chicago

Culbertson, Michael, Frances Seymour, and Michael Wolosin. How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/how-unfccc-parties-can-act-forests-non-carbon-climate-effects.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Culbertson |first1=Michael |last2=Seymour |first2=Frances |last3=Wolosin |first3=Michael |title=How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/how-unfccc-parties-can-act-forests-non-carbon-climate-effects.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{culbertsonndhow, author = {Culbertson, Michael and Seymour, Frances and Wolosin, Michael}, title = {{How UNFCCC Parties Can Act on Forests’ Non-Carbon Climate Effects}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/how-unfccc-parties-can-act-forests-non-carbon-climate-effects.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }