From Reference Levels to Results Reporting: Redd+ under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: 2020 Update

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

This report provides an update on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Plus1 (REDD+) forest reference (emission) levels (FREL/FRLs) and REDD+ results submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and relevant developments under the Green Climate Fund concerningREDD+ results-based payments. It illustrates the choices countries have made when constructing their FREL/FRLs and areas for improvement identified during technical assessments. Such information can help countries to learn from each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Release date: Feb 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789251338148

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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FAO. 2020. From reference levels to results reporting: REDD+ under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.2020 update. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb1635en

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ISSN 2664-1062 [Print]

ISSN 2664-1070 [Online]

ISBN 978-92-5-133510-9

E-ISBN 978-92-5-133814-8 (EPUB)

© FAO, 2020

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Acronyms and abbreviations

Chemical formulae/units

Executive summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Objectives and target audience

1.2 Status of reference levels and REDD+ results submissions

1.3 Reference levels and forest area (change) statistics

2. Summary of submitted reference levels

2.1 What’s new from reference level submissions

2.2 Objectives of reference level submissions

2.3 Impact of technical assessment on reference level submissions

2.4 Choices made by countries on reference level elements

2.5 Proposed reference level values

3. Summary of submitted REDD+ results

3.1 What’s new from REDD+ results submissions

3.2 REDD+ activities included for results reporting

3.3 Uncertainties around emission reductions

4. Green Climate Fund pilot programme for REDD+ results-based payments

4.1 Summary of the pilot programme

4.2 Overview of approved funding proposals and scorecard ratings

4.3 How countries reinvest in their nationally determined contributions

5. REDD+ reporting and the Paris Agreement

5.1 REDD+ reporting and nationally determined contributions

5.2 How national forest monitoring systems can boost transparency

5.3 How results-based payments are made against REDD+ results reported to the UNFCCC

6. Concluding remarks

Appendix I. UNFCCC guidance and modalities

Appendix II. Requirements and scorecard of Green Climate Fund pilot programme for REDD+ results-based payments

References

Boxes

1. What are forest reference emission levels and/or forest reference levels?

2. How Viet Nam used multiple NFI cycles in REDD+ reporting

3. IPCC 2019 refinement and how it influences REDD+ reporting

4. Share of historical emissions from forest degradation and deforestation

5. Progress on REDD+ elements other than FREL/FRLs

6. Ecuador’s enhanced NDC and the role of REDD+

7. Myanmar’s commitment to emission reductions:from FRL to updated NDC targets

Figures

1. Geographical distribution of countries that have submitted a FREL/FRL and those that subsequently submitted REDD+ results to the UNFCCC

2. Overview of FREL/FRL and REDD+ results submissions to the UNFCCC

3. End year of the reference periods in submitted reference levels

4. Belize’s FRL submission included two FRLs where one is only for the purpose of receiving RBPs from the GCF (modified from Belize’s initial FRL submission 2020)

5. Percentage of countries using threshold values for REDD+ forest definitions

6. Scale of FREL/FRL submissions

7. Average number of REDD+ activities included per FREL/FRL submission per year of submission

8. REDD+ activities included in FREL/FRL submissions translated into IPCC land-use subcategories

9. The most common