“We cannot fall into the trap of looking at forests through only one lens: carbon.”- Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The decisions made on reference levels will in large part determine whether REDD will strengthen or weaken the global effort to avert catastrophic climate change. National reference levels that incentivise real permanent emission reductions from...

Decisions made on reference levels will play a large part in determining whether REDD –Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation - will strengthen or weaken the global effort to avert catastrophic climate change.

Deforestation, particularly in the tropics, contributes almost a fifth of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change and an effective financial mechanism to help nations protect their forests essential to a successful climate deal.