When the United Nations process on climate change unveiled the program known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) three years ago, it was hailed by its architects as “an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.” In December 2010, the program was redubbed REDD+—to emphasize the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
REDD is part of a larger plan to trade carbon credits to provide an incentive to keep forests standing. The seller of the credits (generally a government or land-holder in the developing world) is paid to keep carbon sequestered in forests. The purchase of these credits allows the buyer (generally a company in the industrialized world) to engage in activities that emit carbon. Environmental groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) generally serve to broker and help oversee the deals. Each ton of emitted carbon per purchased credit can be deducted from the yearly toll when computing emission caps established for participating nations under the Kyoto Protocol. In theory, this will result in a net reduction in global emissions by offsetting carbon released through industrial pollution.
