At Code REDD, we work to scale public and private support for REDD+. We believe REDD+ is the most economically and ecologically effective tool that we have in the fight against deforestation. Read on below to find out why.

Deforestation and Climate Change

Deforestation causes 10% of all global annual greenhouse gas emissions – more than the entire transportation sector. It also creates an unsustainable model for economic development, decimating the local environment and livelihoods of the world’s poorest and most marginalized communities.

The REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is a solution to these deeply intertwined challenges. By quantifying and valuing the carbon storage services that forests provide, REDD+ helps change the economic incentives around deforestation and international development – providing forest communities and developing countries with a low-carbon pathway to sustainable economic growth.

Code REDD therefore strives to align and build support for REDD+ within climate policies, environmental reporting, and development priorities.

Climate Policies

Effective climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies must address the underlying drivers of deforestation if they are to stop the second largest source of emissions and promote a low-carbon pathway to economic development. REDD+ effectively changes the perverse economic incentives that drive deforestation, thereby acknowledging the importance of international forests and sustainable development within global climate strategies.

We continue to advocate, demonstrate, and facilitate support for REDD+ in emerging national and international climate policies, including Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s emissions trading mechanism, and various domestic carbon pricing policies in both developed and developing countries.

Development Priorities

The concept of sustainable economic development, of a green economy that “results in improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities,” is gaining support and recognition as a necessary transition for a sustainable future. The role of forests and land use is growing in discussions of this transition, and we are working to ensure that REDD+ is represented in these conversations as a viable and effective sustainable development tool.

REDD+ addresses the market, policy, and institutional failures that undervalue the services forest ecosystems provide. We therefore work to engage the public, private, and civil sectors on the role of REDD+ in low-carbon development and the emergence of the green economy.

Jurisdictional Integration

Recent trends in the REDD+ space have involved the development of large-scale REDD+ programs that cover entire landscapes, provinces, or other large administrative units. International bodies, like the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), support national and regional governments in developing the necessary infrastructure to implement REDD+ at these scales, creating the potential for a massive transformation of the economic incentives causing deforestation.

Many of our best-in-class projects have achieved this transformation on a smaller scale, and lie within areas that are now under consideration for a jurisdictional program. It is therefore essential that they integrate, or ‘nest’, into the larger program. Code REDD works with a range of organizations to encourage and support this process for eligible projects. We also regularly attend FCPF meetings and work with other private sector actors to promote the role of private investment in scaling REDD+ finance.