Paying true cost of land use emissions will inspire you to use land in less emitting ways
Clark’s presentation touched on a delicate question that is still
unresolved: how will climate policy address emissions from land use?
“Without valuing the carbon in land, we risk losing large swaths of
unmanaged ecosystems to agricultural crops and biofuels,” said Leon
Clarke of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a collaboration
between the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory and the University of Maryland.
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Speaking Friday, Clark said that if climate policy aims to stabilize
greenhouse gas emissions, it must factor in all sources of emissions,
including those from land use. Land use — including deforestation,
degradation of forests and other ecosystems, and agriculture —
accounts for roughly one-third of global emissions. Such emissions can
be reduced through processes that enhance soil carbon as well as
reforestation and cutting deforestation.
The U.N. and other entities are presently evaluating mechanisms that would compensate developing countries for reducing emissions for deforestation but some conservationists fear that these policies will be used by agroindustrial firms and forestry companies to subsidize their operations. Since there is presently no “penalty” for their emissions, they may continue to clear and convert forest lands but seek carbon credits for blocks that may be left undeveloped due to their unsuitability for agriculture or timber harvesting.
A price on all emissions would be a step towards addressing this concern since companies would have to pay for the emissions associated with all of their activities, but will be strongly opposed by industry. Still as Clarke noted, such a model could be one of the most cost-effective means to curtailing greenhouse gas emissions.
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