Forest Carbon Accounting: How Does Canada Assess the Contribution of Forests Toward Reducing Emissions?

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Canada has committed to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Each year, Canada reports on the contribution of forest towards achieving this target. Both human activities and natural events and processes like wildfire, insect infestations, and tree growth affect forest GHG emissions. This adds complexity when determining human-caused emissions in forests, which is the focus of reporting to the UNFCCC. Canada, like many other countries, applies specific accounting approaches to determine how changes in human-caused emissions in managed forests are contributing to national emission reduction targets.