Overview

To follow up on its September 23, 2008 workshop on “The various levels of REDD: Making REDD work for forest nations and local stakeholders“, AD Partners is launching a new effort to provide policy makers with language that ensures that national and sub-national crediting and implementation approaches are compatible. AD Partners will convene a group of 6 – 12 stakeholders representing civil society, indigenous peoples, and the business community to draft a possible REDD mechanism that integrates project level activities into national accounting schemes.

One of the breakout sessions on the September 23rd workshop focused on “National and sub-national crediting and implementation”. The participants in this breakout session emphasized REDD will ultimately be assessed on a national level, but that sub-national approaches can be a step towards national approaches, and that sub-national implementation will also occur within national approaches. For this reason it is essential for national and sub-national approaches to be compatible. The interaction between national and sub-national approaches raises a number of issues, including risk allocation between governments and sub-national actors, defining what is meant by national approaches, and the time it will take negotiate national reference scenarios or baselines.

The group agreed that successful projects or programs within a country (after leakage is taken into account) should not be penalized if the country as a whole fails to reduce emissions. If projects were subject to this risk the group agreed that very few local stakeholders or the private sector would be interested in engaging in REDD. A number of different understandings of “national” REDD approaches were discussed that differentiated between national monitoring and accounting for emissions and the crediting or reward mechanism for emission reductions, which may occur on a national and/or sub-national level.

The group identified some key principles for a future REDD regime that included national level accounting, support for private sector investment, and issuance of permanent REDD credits. However, the group did not have the time to delve into the details of a future mechanism, but recommended that a working group of 6 – 12 stakeholders representing civil society, indigenous peoples, and the business community be convened to draft a possible REDD mechanism that integrates project level activities into national accounting schemes. Government negotiators would also be invited to participate either in the drafting and/or as observers. The working group will build on the principles identified in the workshop and include specific recommendations and suggested UN text for designing a workable REDD mechanism. Lessons (both positive and negative) will be taken from the experiences of the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation.

AD Partners is currently seeking funds to implement this project with the intent of launching it in early 2009.  The project team encourages and welcomes financial sponsorship from foundations, for-profit and non-profit groups. All contributions are tax deductible in accordance with U.S. law.