Open AccessCarbon emissions reductions from Indonesia’s moratorium on forest concessions are cost-effective yet contribute little to Paris pledges
Author(s) -
Ben Groom,
Charles Palmer,
Lorenzo Sileci
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2102613119
Subject(s) - deforestation (computer science) , reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation , greenhouse gas , general partnership , natural resource economics , payment , high forest , baseline (sea) , forest degradation , peat , carbon credit , incentive , business , carbon sequestration , agricultural economics , environmental protection , environmental science , agroforestry , carbon stock , economics , geography , climate change , agriculture , carbon dioxide , finance , land degradation , ecology , oceanography , archaeology , computer science , biology , microeconomics , programming language , geology
Significance More than a decade after the global adoption of REDD+ as a climate change mitigation strategy, countries have started accessing results-based payments. However, the extent to which payments are actually based on results is unknown, necessitating program evaluations to establish the contribution of REDD+ to the Paris NDCs. We undertake a microeconometric evaluation of one of the most globally significant REDD+ initiatives, Indonesia’s moratorium on forest concessions, in which a payment has been awarded. At the agreed US$5/tCO2 -eq, the value of our estimated cumulative carbon emissions far exceeds the proposed payment from the donor, Norway. Although cost-effective, the emissions reductions only contribute 3 to 4% of Indonesia’s NDC. This contribution could be increased in new initiatives with better-designed incentives and institutional arrangements.