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FAO assessment of forests and carbon stocks, 1990-2015

Year of publication 2015

Pages 4p.

Author Forestry department

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN Not applicable

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Global estimates of forest emission trends show that total emissions have decreased by over 25 percent between the period 2001–2010 and the period 2011–2015. FAO data show that the decrease is due to a decline in deforestation rates globally. They also reveal that emissions from forest degradation, estimated for the first time, are increasing over time and represent one-quarter of total emissions.

Language English

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    Carbon emissions and removals from forests: new estimates, 1990–2020 2021
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    National, regional and global CO2 emissions and removals from forests were estimated for the period 1990–2020 using as input the country reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates, based on a simple carbon stock change approach, update published information on net emissions and removals from forests in relation to (a) net forest conversion and (b) forest land. Results show a significant reduction in global emissions from net forest conversion over the study period, from a mean of 4.3 in 1991–2000 to 2.9 Gt CO2 yr−1 in 2016–2020. At the same time, forest land was a significant carbon sink globally but decreased in strength over the study period, from −3.5 to −2.6 Gt CO2 yr−1. Combining net forest conversion with forest land, our estimates indicated that globally forests were a small net source of CO2 to the atmosphere on average during 1990–2020, with mean net emissions of 0.4 Gt CO2 yr−1. The exception was the brief period 2011–2015, when forest land removals counterbalanced emissions from net forest conversion, resulting in a global net sink of −0.7 Gt CO2 yr−1. Importantly, the new estimates allow for the first time in the literature the characterization of forest emissions and removals for the decade just concluded, 2011–2020, showing that in this period the net contribution of forests to the atmosphere was very small, i.e., a sink of less than −0.2 Gt CO2 yr−1 – an estimate not yet reported in the literature. This near-zero balance was nonetheless the result of large global fluxes of opposite sign, namely net forest conversion emissions of 3.1 Gt CO2 yr−1 counterbalanced by net removals on forest land of −3.3 Gt CO2 yr−1. Finally, we compared our estimates with data independently reported by countries to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, indicating close agreement between FAO and country emissions and removals estimates. Data from this study are openly available via the Zenodo portal (Tubiello, 2020), with DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941973, as well as in the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database) emissions database (FAO, 2021a).
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    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Designing a Multipurpose National Forest Inventory to Reduce Emissions from Deforestration and Forest Degradation (REDD+) 2013
    Also available in:
    The deforestation and forest degradation that have been recorded in recent years are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). To slow and possibly reverse this trend, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) joined the initiative under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+).
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  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Carbon emissions and removals from forests: new estimates, 1990–2020 2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    National, regional and global CO2 emissions and removals from forests were estimated for the period 1990–2020 using as input the country reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates, based on a simple carbon stock change approach, update published information on net emissions and removals from forests in relation to (a) net forest conversion and (b) forest land. Results show a significant reduction in global emissions from net forest conversion over the study period, from a mean of 4.3 in 1991–2000 to 2.9 Gt CO2 yr−1 in 2016–2020. At the same time, forest land was a significant carbon sink globally but decreased in strength over the study period, from −3.5 to −2.6 Gt CO2 yr−1. Combining net forest conversion with forest land, our estimates indicated that globally forests were a small net source of CO2 to the atmosphere on average during 1990–2020, with mean net emissions of 0.4 Gt CO2 yr−1. The exception was the brief period 2011–2015, when forest land removals counterbalanced emissions from net forest conversion, resulting in a global net sink of −0.7 Gt CO2 yr−1. Importantly, the new estimates allow for the first time in the literature the characterization of forest emissions and removals for the decade just concluded, 2011–2020, showing that in this period the net contribution of forests to the atmosphere was very small, i.e., a sink of less than −0.2 Gt CO2 yr−1 – an estimate not yet reported in the literature. This near-zero balance was nonetheless the result of large global fluxes of opposite sign, namely net forest conversion emissions of 3.1 Gt CO2 yr−1 counterbalanced by net removals on forest land of −3.3 Gt CO2 yr−1. Finally, we compared our estimates with data independently reported by countries to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, indicating close agreement between FAO and country emissions and removals estimates. Data from this study are openly available via the Zenodo portal (Tubiello, 2020), with DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941973, as well as in the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database) emissions database (FAO, 2021a).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Designing a Multipurpose National Forest Inventory to Reduce Emissions from Deforestration and Forest Degradation (REDD+) 2013
    Also available in:
    The deforestation and forest degradation that have been recorded in recent years are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). To slow and possibly reverse this trend, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) joined the initiative under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+).
  • Thumbnail Image
  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Carbon emissions and removals from forests: new estimates, 1990–2020 2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    National, regional and global CO2 emissions and removals from forests were estimated for the period 1990–2020 using as input the country reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates, based on a simple carbon stock change approach, update published information on net emissions and removals from forests in relation to (a) net forest conversion and (b) forest land. Results show a significant reduction in global emissions from net forest conversion over the study period, from a mean of 4.3 in 1991–2000 to 2.9 Gt CO2 yr−1 in 2016–2020. At the same time, forest land was a significant carbon sink globally but decreased in strength over the study period, from −3.5 to −2.6 Gt CO2 yr−1. Combining net forest conversion with forest land, our estimates indicated that globally forests were a small net source of CO2 to the atmosphere on average during 1990–2020, with mean net emissions of 0.4 Gt CO2 yr−1. The exception was the brief period 2011–2015, when forest land removals counterbalanced emissions from net forest conversion, resulting in a global net sink of −0.7 Gt CO2 yr−1. Importantly, the new estimates allow for the first time in the literature the characterization of forest emissions and removals for the decade just concluded, 2011–2020, showing that in this period the net contribution of forests to the atmosphere was very small, i.e., a sink of less than −0.2 Gt CO2 yr−1 – an estimate not yet reported in the literature. This near-zero balance was nonetheless the result of large global fluxes of opposite sign, namely net forest conversion emissions of 3.1 Gt CO2 yr−1 counterbalanced by net removals on forest land of −3.3 Gt CO2 yr−1. Finally, we compared our estimates with data independently reported by countries to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, indicating close agreement between FAO and country emissions and removals estimates. Data from this study are openly available via the Zenodo portal (Tubiello, 2020), with DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941973, as well as in the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database) emissions database (FAO, 2021a).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Designing a Multipurpose National Forest Inventory to Reduce Emissions from Deforestration and Forest Degradation (REDD+) 2013
    Also available in:
    The deforestation and forest degradation that have been recorded in recent years are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). To slow and possibly reverse this trend, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) joined the initiative under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+).
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