New CEC reports look at the main drivers of forest carbon dynamics
North American forests shown as critical to the mitigation of climate change
Montreal, 15 February 2016—The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), in collaboration with the national forestry agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States, has published two reports that underscore the pivotal role of North America’s forests in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The summary report, Integrated Modeling and Assessment of North American Forest Carbon Dynamics: Tools for monitoring, reporting and projecting forest greenhouse gas emissions and removals, and its accompanying technical report synthesize several years of experts’ collaboration to improve and harmonize methods for assessing changes in carbon stocks and causes of change between the three countries. The reports also showcase the application of tools for the estimation, reporting and projection of past and future forest GHG balances.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in forest ecosystems and harvested wood products. The Paris Agreement on climate change adopted by 195 countries in December 2015 recognizes this critical role of forests in climate change mitigation.
The CEC reports contribute to the development of policies and initiatives in Canada, Mexico and the United States aimed at reducing carbon emissions and enhancing the capacity of our forests to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
In the next phase of this work, the tools developed will be applied to assess climate change mitigation options at representative landscapes in North America’s forest sector.
To view or download the full reports, visit our Virtual Library at www.cec.org/library.
For more information on the CEC’s collaborative work on climate change mitigation and adaptation in North America, visit www.cec.org/climatechange or contact Karen Richardson, CEC Director of Programs, at krichardson@cec.org.
Keep up-to-date with the CEC’s work by following @CECweb on Twitter or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cecconnect.
About the CEC
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations
The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.