Meeting the 1.5 °C goal will require a rapid scale-up of zero-carbon energy supply, fuel switching to electricity, efficiency and demand-reduction in all sectors, and the replenishment of natural carbon sinks. These transformations will have immediate impacts on various of the sustainable development goals. As goals such as affordable and clean energy and zero hunger are more immediate to great parts of global population, these impacts are central for societal acceptability of climate policies. Yet, little is known about how the achievement of other social and environmental sustainability objectives can be directly managed through emission reduction policies. In addition, the integrated assessment literature has so far emphasized a single, global (cost-minimizing) carbon price as the optimal mechanism to achieve emissions reductions.
The forest sector has great potential for contributing to inclusive green growth, as it is labor intensive, provides significant export opportunities, and, if managed sustainably, can help to mitigate climate change. Promoting harvested wood products (HWP) (such as wood for construction or furniture, or biomass for energy) is an important strategy for maximizing the economic, social, and environmental potential of the forest sector.
In alignment with existing international climate and development goals, this report, Harnessing the Potential of Private Sector: Engagement in productive forests for green growth, quantifies the benefits of promoting HWP production in Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Vietnam, and Peru, and recommends steps that can be taken to improve the mitigation potential of HWPs.
