Economics of Carbon Sequestration in Forestry

Book excerpt: Since the 1992 Earth Summit, there have been increased efforts on an international scale to address global climate change. Reducing the increased levels of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases," which are believed to be contributing to this climatic change, will require major effort on the part of the world's governments. This means that the environmental, economic, social, and political consequences of climate change must be understood, and that strategies to mitigate climate change must also address these issues. The workshop detailed in this book concentrated on how economic principles and analysis could contribute to the planning of forestry projects aimed at affecting terrestrial carbon balances. More than 30 international scientists came together for one week near Stockholm, Sweden and divided into working groups charged with addressing a specific issue and preparing a paper within this time frame. This book contains the majority of papers presented at this meeting, and includes both the working group papers and the individually presented papers.