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The report highlights that forests stabilize the climate through biophysical processes affecting energy and moisture transfers, which are currently undervalued in policy. It argues that accounting for these effects can increase the estimated global cooling benefit of avoiding tropical deforestation by up to 50% and warns that ignoring them leads to underestimated climate risks for health and agriculture.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions, failing to account for biophysical processes—such as evapotranspiration and albedo—that make tropical forests critical for cooling the planet. This omission leads to overly conservative credit valuations for tropical nations and indigenous communities, while potentially overvaluing credits from higher latitudes. The authors suggest integrating these biophysical benefits as premium attributes or CO2 equivalents to ensure a just transition and better incentivize large-scale forest conservation.

The research paper contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, failing to account for the biophysical processes of tropical forests—such as evapotranspiration and albedo—that contribute significantly to global cooling. This omission leads to overly conservative crediting for tropical regions and an underestimation of their mitigation potential, which the authors estimate could provide an additional 1.4 to 1.8 gigatons of CO2-equivalent annual mitigation. The paper also highlights the concept of 'positive biophysical leakage,' where protecting forests enhances the resilience of surrounding landscapes against wildfire and drought. To address these inequities, the authors recommend that norm-setting bodies balance risk assessments, allow for premium pricing based on non-carbon attributes, and work toward quantifying biophysical effects as CO2 equivalents.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas emissions, ignoring four key biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—that allow tropical forests to cool the planet. This omission leads to a significant underestimation of the climate mitigation potential of tropical forests, which the authors claim contribute 50% more to global warming prevention than carbon alone. The document highlights that conservative risk-management standards (such as additionality and leakage tests) further penalize tropical forest credits, particularly in High Forest Low Deforestation (HFLD) countries. It proposes that these non-carbon benefits be treated as additional attributes for pricing or eventually quantified as CO2 equivalents to ensure a more equitable transition for indigenous peoples and local communities.

The report contends that carbon markets focus exclusively on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, failing to account for four key biophysical processes—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—that allow tropical forests to cool the planet. This omission leads to an underestimation of the mitigation potential of tropical forests, which could provide an additional 1.4 to 1.8 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent mitigation per year. The authors argue that this creates an inequitable system that penalizes tropical nations and indigenous communities while overvaluing forests in higher latitudes. To correct this, the document recommends incorporating biophysical effects as additional credit attributes, recognizing 'positive biophysical leakage' that enhances landscape resilience, and developing long-term methods to quantify these benefits as CO2 equivalents.

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.

The document provides a comprehensive overview of the Paris Agreement Rulebook, which operationalizes the Agreement's long-term goals through a continuous cycle of planning, implementing, and reviewing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It details key outcomes from COP24 in Katowice, including the adoption of guidelines for the Enhanced Transparency Framework, the Global Stocktake, and projected finance information. The guide also identifies unresolved issues, such as the specific length of common timeframes for NDCs and the rules governing cooperative implementation and carbon markets.

The document explains the 'Rulebook' of the Paris Agreement, which provides the detailed guidelines for the cycle of planning, implementation, and review of climate actions. It highlights key outcomes from COP24, including the adoption of common timelines for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) starting in 2031, enhanced transparency frameworks, and the modalities for the Global Stocktake. It also identifies remaining negotiation gaps, particularly regarding carbon market mechanisms and the specific duration of common implementation periods.

The document details the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement, focusing on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), transparency frameworks, and the global stocktake. It outlines key decisions from COP24, such as the requirement for common timelines for NDCs starting in 2031 and the establishment of biennial transparency reports due by December 31, 2024. It also identifies remaining negotiation gaps regarding carbon markets and the specific duration of common timelines.

WRI Indonesia's 2025-2032 strategy focuses on three core systems: energy, cities, and food, land and water. The organization aims to support Indonesia's goal of 8% GDP growth and a 43% emissions reduction by 2030 through industrial decarbonization, urban redesign, and ecosystem restoration. Key initiatives include promoting responsible critical mineral extraction, expanding green urban spaces, and securing land rights for Indigenous Peoples to enhance forest protection. WRI Indonesia employs a "count it, change it, scale it" methodology to integrate data-driven research with policy implementation across national and local government levels.

The paper argues that a post-2012 climate agreement should be legally binding but allow for a diverse range of commitment forms and content, subject to differentiated review. It highlights that while specific, binding commitments generally lead to better environmental outcomes and may provide preferential access to carbon markets or avoid trade sanctions, developing country major economies face unique pressures to match the commitment levels of industrialized nations.

The document defines a greenhouse gas offset as a unit of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) reduced, avoided, or sequestered to compensate for emissions elsewhere. It outlines five essential criteria for environmental integrity: offsets must be real (representing actual reductions relative to a baseline), permanent (not reversible), additional (resulting from carbon market incentives rather than business-as-usual), verifiable (monitored by independent third parties), and enforceable (tracked via registries to prevent double counting). The text distinguishes between regulatory markets, where government agencies set standards, and voluntary markets, which rely on various independent standards for quality assurance. It notes that while offsets can support corporate emissions strategies after internal mitigation is maximized, future climate programs are more likely to recognize internal abatement over offsets.

The report examines the intersection of U.S. and Chinese climate policies, highlighting how U.S. cap-and-trade legislation could impact competitiveness and how bilateral frameworks like the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding can foster cooperation. It details China's specific targets for energy intensity, non-fossil fuel energy shares, and forest cover, while noting that China's policy approach relies on a diverse set of tools rather than a single cap-and-trade system.

The ACT2025 Alliance Statement outlines a comprehensive 'Ambition, Solidarity, and Prosperity' package for COP26. It calls for major emitters to align NDCs with the 1.5°C goal, demands that developed countries meet and exceed the $100 billion annual climate finance pledge, and advocates for the operationalization of the Global Goal on Adaptation and the establishment of Loss and Damage as a permanent agenda item. The consortium emphasizes the need for a reformed financial system that prioritizes grants over loans and the adoption of a common five-year time frame for NDCs to ensure near-term accountability.

The document evaluates the evolution of REDD+ from local projects to jurisdictional approaches, noting that while national initiatives have improved forest monitoring and governance, most have failed to reverse absolute deforestation. It highlights the emergence of subnational jurisdictional strategies as a way to link climate incentives with sustainable supply chains and recommends a rights-based approach that prioritizes indigenous peoples and local communities.

The document argues that the massive investments required to address the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation create new corruption risks. It highlights a 2020 study from Bangladesh where 35% of climate adaptation funds were embezzled. To counter this, it recommends a three-step approach: understanding corruption's impact, assessing specific programming risks, and adapting strategies through inclusive nature-based solutions, increased transparency in carbon markets and climate finance, and the detection of illicit financial flows.

The document examines the relationship between the Paris Agreement and aviation emissions, asserting that the ICAO's goal of stabilizing net emissions at 2020 levels is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement's objective to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C or well below 2°C. It notes that while the Paris Agreement covers all anthropogenic emissions, it does not specify how to address international transport, leaving a gap that the ICAO's GMBM must fill. The briefing emphasizes that domestic aviation emissions fall under nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which account for one third of total aviation emissions. It further highlights that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides essential frameworks for the environmental integrity of carbon markets, which are critical since the GMBM relies heavily on offsets. The document concludes that ICAO member states, all of whom are parties to the Paris Agreement, must ensure the GMBM reflects the Agreement's spirit of increasing ambition over time.