Options for multilateral initiatives to close the global 2030 climate ambition and action gap : policy field forest protection

Achieving the Paris Agreement long-term temperature goal requires efforts for rapidly reducing GHG emissions while also increasing CO2 removals by sinks. G20 countries have a crucial role to play in increasing climate policy ambition. Land use change contributes 15 % of current global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, largely as a result of forest conversion to other land uses. To make forests part of the solution, a steep reduction in deforestation emissions is required, as well as policies to rebuild land-based carbon stocks. This policy paper provides a comprehensive but condensed analysis of the current landscape of multilateral initiatives promoting forest protection and restoration. It provides concrete options to improve existing and develop future initiatives in the land use sector with a focus on forests. Five existing initiatives were analysed: the Bonn Challenge, the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), the BioCarbon Fund’s Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), and the Accountability Framework initiative. Based on findings regarding existing gaps and potential opportunities, five options for bridging the gaps are suggested: 1) Increasing stakeholder participation, resolving land tenure issues and reducing information imbalances to improve ownership; 2) Establishing a facility for providing a consistent global reference data set of land use emissions for reconciling national data and supporting the development of transparent national monitoring systems; 3) Aligning jurisdictional approaches with certification and supply chain management standards to enhance private sector engagement and support longer-term commitments; 4) Encouraging countries for coherent forest protection and landscape restoration pledges and improving representation of land use in NDCs; and 5) Combine COVID-19 recovery with policies for forest protection and restoration to promote no-regret options.