Hello
Thank you for your correspondence on land sector accounting rules in the international climate change negotiations.
The Australian Government recognises the need for improved international treatment of human-caused emissions from the land sector. As the current international accounting rules do not encourage countries to take up carbon pollution reduction opportunities from this sector Australia – like other countries – is seeking changes to improve the environmental effectiveness of the rules.
Improving the rules could provide greater incentives for countries to include emissions from a broader range of land management activities including forestry in their carbon pollution reduction commitments. This would promote greater action to reduce emissions and increase uptake of carbon dioxide (known as sequestration).
Good progress was made at the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Cancun Mexico in December last year with agreement that countries should finalise the land sector accounting rules during 2011. As part of this countries need to agree on the approach for establishing a baseline which countries can use to measure changes in carbon pollution levels from their forests. Importantly and in line with Australia’s preferred outcome the decision also establishes a review process to ensure that the proposed baselines are robust and set in an open and transparent manner. The findings of the review process will be open to all countries as well as interested stakeholders.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. I can assure you that Australia will continue to play a strong role in the international climate change negotiations.
Regards
Greg Combet
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency