This study analyzes the extent to which greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may be affected by a plan to purchase private forestland for the expansion of carbon sinks, focusing on how changes in forestland ownership affect deforestation and urbanization and how subsequent changes in deforestation and...

Despite growing policy interest in using tropical forests as carbon sinks, relevant evidence is sparse. To provide such evidence, our project advances and integrates two disciplinary analyses, and applies them for a case study of Costa Rica. First, we estimate how much C sequestration will be...

Because forests play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, the international community is actively pursuing policies and programs to conserve and increase the amount of carbon stored in forests. As the international community moves closer to an agreement on terrestrial carbon...

Biomass, a renewable energy source, has been viewed as "carbon neutral" - that is, its use as energy is presumed not to release net carbon dioxide. However, this assumption of carbon neutrality has recently been challenged. In 2010 two letters were sent to the Congress by eminent scientists...

“Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation” (REDD) is emerging as a major new climate change mechanism that could deeply impact the financial, social and institutional dynamics of deforestation, conservation, and development in many developing countries. It has the...

The use of forests as carbon sinks is examined by introducing carbon sequestration benefits’ accounting in a multi-vintage land allocation model. Following the IPCC, three carbon accounting methods are considered. We compare the results in each case with those without carbon sequestration, as...

This paper investigates the social efficiency of creating temporary certified emissions reductions to internalize the carbon sequestration function of the forest under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. We find that the regulations governing the creation of temporary...

This article explores ecosystem service trading. To date, most of the literature on this topic has focused on programs in which those who purchase rights to ecosystems use them to replace other, damaged ecosystems. An example would be the Wetlands Mitigation Banking Program, about which much as...

This paper examines the effect of the regulations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in creating temporary certified emission reductions (tCERs) on optimal harvesting decisions and supply of carbon removal services in forest plantations. The paper develops a theoretical model examining...

Biomass energy is expected to play a major role in the substitution of renewable energy sources for fossil fuels over the next several decades. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA 2012) forecasts increases in the share of biomass in US energy production from 8 percent in 2009 to 15...