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Trees and forests are essential for climate protection, because they absorb carbon in significant volumes. Photosynthesis involves efficiently and effectively removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass, while at the same time producing oxygen and returning it to the atmosphere. Carbon is stored not only in the visible biomass such as the trunk, the branches and in the leaf or needle chaff, but also in the roots and soil. This completely natural process is permanent. However, it does have its limits: Trees need time (sometimes up to decades) to bind a significant amount of carbon. And the CO₂ they store can be re-released, for example in forest fires. In view of advancing climate change, this is one more reason to take action now to intensify our efforts in forest protection and “sustainable forest management”.
The relevance of forests for climate protection is emphasised in international agreements, such as Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, and in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A range of draft laws and initiatives reflect the significance of forests ecosystems and their benefits for biodiversity. The United Nations, for instance, has declared 2021 to 2030 as a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. At the Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November 2021, 130 countries, including Switzerland and the European Union, signed the Declaration on Forests and Land Use, which aims to stop global deforestation, including through land conversion, by 2030. In December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, which aims to protect 30 per cent of landmasses and oceans by 2030. The European Parliament also recently passed the European Nature Restoration Law.
Forests are also hotspots of biodiversity and essential for the natural water cycle. When they are lost as habitats, this increases the risk of viruses and other pathogens passing from animal populations to humans. In the worst-case scenario, this can lead to pandemics. These diseases are called zoonoses. UN Secretary General António Guterres underscores the fundamental significance of forests: “Forests also act as important carbon sinks, absorbing about 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Sustainably managing forests is therefore critical for closing the emissions gap and limiting global temperature rise.”
The burning of fossil fuels is by far the greatest driver of climate change. Nonetheless, deforestation also has a significant bearing on a global scale. The main reasons are cattle farming, soya cultivation, the harvesting of tropical timber, palm oil plantations, timber plantations for paper production, infrastructure projects, which includes reservoirs, as well as the mining of raw materials such as oil, coltan and gold. Global warming and the associated drought are intensifying the effect and frequency of “normal” forest fires. This in turn leads to an increased release of CO₂, which further fuels climate change. Forest fires are both cause and effect. The situation is similar with other consequences of climate change, such as increased storms and an increase in pests that we are familiar with in forests in this part of the world. In Germany, for example, drought from 2019–2021 led to such massive damage to forests that in the coming years a total of 500,000 hectares of damaged areas are expected to be reforested or actively rejuvenated.
In order to meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement and to protect biodiversity, as set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we urgently need comprehensive measures for the protection and near-natural and sustainable management of forest ecosystems, as well as reforestation and the regeneration of degraded landscapes. The 2023 IPCC report shows that nature-based solutions – including reduced destruction of forests and other ecosystems, their restoration and improved management of agricultural operations and other usable land – are among the most effective strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Since the Kyoto Protocol, reforestation, forest protection activities and improved forest management (IFM) projects have played an important role in climate protection. These nature-based solutions aim to protect existing forests or to manage them in a more environmentally and climate-friendly way, or to (re-)forest degraded landscapes or, if possible, to regenerate them naturally. Reforestation projects and natural reforestation are particularly important for sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere.
As important as reforestation and replanting may be, they are much more complex and expensive than protecting existing, original forests. Moreover, a young forest can never provide the same level of ecosystem services as an existing forest in the first decades. Established forests are important for a region’s water balance, provide key habitats for flora and fauna and also provide livelihoods for local people. myclimate therefore focuses not only on protecting, adapting and strengthening existing ecosystems (IFM), but also on high-quality reforestation in cooperation with the local population, in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and throughout the world.
In forest conservation projects, the focus is on ensuring that CO₂ emissions from wood use, tillage and land conversion do not enter the atmosphere in the first place. The climate impact of these projects is calculated by comparing the retained biomass with an average deforestation or intensive forestry scenario.
Forest protection can be achieved by reducing the pressure on forests. This is done by making it so that the local population needs significantly less wood for cooking (e.g. through efficient stoves) or no longer needs firewood at all (by switching to biogas stoves). A large proportion of the projects supported and developed by myclimate fall into this category.
Another project category is the forest conservation project designed in line with the UN principle REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Under these projects, forests are actively conserved and reestablished in the event of degradation. The principle behind such projects is as follows: deforestation generates short-term economic value, for example through income from wood, agricultural land or the construction of settlements, as well as all downstream value chains. An “unused” forest supposedly has a lower monetary value.
To provide an incentive for leaving forests intact, the UN developed the REDD+ mechanism, with Switzerland playing a major part. In REDD+ programmes, forest owners are compensated for the opportunity cost of not transforming their forests into other forms of land usage. In other words, the sale of CO₂ certificates pays for forests not to be cleared, or to recover. The Paris Agreement recognises REDD+ and the central role of forests in Article 5.
As this type of project is highly complex in its implementation, myclimate only supports REDD+ projects that have been certified under the Plan Vivo standard, a stringent and integrated standard for land use and forestry (LUF) projects on the voluntary market. The Plan Vivo standard requires, for example, that rather than just paying out money for forest conservation, projects also offer the local population further incentives for retaining the forest. One way to do this is by creating alternative revenue opportunities in line with forest conservation. This may include producing honey or collecting and selling mushrooms or wild berries. These revenue opportunities are also known as NTFPs (non-timber forest products). myclimate is currently supporting two REDD+ projects with Plan-Vivo certification in its portfolio, one of which is a project for the Protection of Tanzanian Forests for Indigenous Peoples, Wildlife and the Climate.
On Beatenberg in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, myclimate is supporting a similar forest reserve project, which is certified according to the methodology of Verein Wald-Klimaschutz Schweiz (Swiss Forest Climate Protection Association). This is a forest that will be protected for at least 50 years, during which time none of its wood may be used. The project is coordinated and partly financed by the cantonal forestry service and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), and is also supported by myclimate. However, Switzerland’s Beatenberg Natural Forest Reserve is not a REDD+ project, since according to the UNFCCC REDD+ Framework, these can only be found in developing and emerging countries.
In reforestation projects, trees capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass and in the ground. This results in what are known as removal certificates. This sequestering of carbon is known as the “sink effect”.
myclimate only supports and co-develops reforestation projects that are designed to offer landowners – generally smallhold farming families – a financial motivation for retaining their forests in the long term. For international projects, myclimate therefore relies on the Plan Vivo standard from the outset. These are designed for the long term, which means that landowners not only receive financial compensation for their investments, but can also earn additional income through sustainable forest management.
For both regional and international forest projects, it is essential that afforestation does not compete with arable land for the cultivation of food. This prevents forests from being cleared on alternative land. myclimate also considers the right to sustainable forest management on all reforestation areas to be very relevant. A right of this kind makes it possible to use wood as a renewable raw material in a regulated manner (green economy). This effectively prevents the relocation of economic compensatory measures and clearing due to economic bottlenecks. Furthermore, the “gaps” that arise in the young forest provide space for the remaining trees to grow.
It is common global forestry practice that about 50 to 70 per cent more seedlings are planted at the beginning of reforestation and during the first years. This creates a lot of biomass, which naturally displaces other vegetation and enables the young trees to support each other in their growth (e.g. by protecting each other from wind, frost and drought). After a few years, individual trees are removed to give the rest more space to grow. This extracted wood can be used for other purposes. In international projects, a local timber industry is established with new local supply and processing chains that provide landowners with additional sources of income (added value), for example through the sale of biochar or wood products or creating jobs in local sawmills.
The direct project measures also create or secure permanent and temporary jobs, both regionally and internationally. For example, when selecting and developing projects, myclimate ensures that regional workers and operations are deployed in the areas of regional nurseries, forestry companies, tree care and harvesting, project monitoring experts and local assistants.
This means that these forest reforestation projects fulfil more than just a climate service. They are in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals and take into account the regional needs of work, well-being and health. They support the goal of increasing biodiversity and sustainable use and conservation.
In order to meet all of these requirements, myclimate not only focuses on the Plan Vivo standard in international projects, but also works with the German Forest Climate Standard. For projects in Switzerland and Austria, myclimate follows the Guidelines for Domestic Projects.
Another type of project in the field of nature-based solutions that is used worldwide is called “improved forest management” (IFM). What lies behind this term is the approach of achieving higher climate performance of forests by adapting or modifying prevailing forest management.
myclimate currently supports projects in this category primarily in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In addition to the above-mentioned increase in climate performance, i.e. increased carbon sequestration, the focus is on two further objectives: stabilising forests in the face of climate change and promoting regional biodiversity. For this reason, these projects are also referred to as “climate-optimised” or “climate-smart” forest management.
The measures taken as part of such a project primarily involve actively converting existing pure stands, i.e. forests consisting of only one tree species, to a structurally rich mixed forest. Often, the pure forms are pine or spruce forests, which were created in the past as age-class forests. This means that a tree species of the same age has been planted in an area, e.g. a forest or forest area consisting of only 70-year-old pines. These forests are particularly vulnerable in times of climate change. Due to their low species and structural diversity, they are much more susceptible to storm damage and pest infestation. Measures for the conversion of these forests include promoting natural regeneration through targeted cultivation and adding other tree species through active tree planting.
Depending on the project or project type, old trees are left in the forest for longer and the standing wood supply is used less than theoretically possible and permitted in terms of forest management. As a result, additional carbon is sequestered in the forest. After a few years, the younger trees and forestry measures ensure that the forest is more structured and stable. This diversity of the stand structure and higher tree species diversity demonstrably contribute to the resilience of the forest ecosystem. This also reduces the potential proportion of damaged wood, i.e. trees that have to be removed from the forest due to damage.
In Germany alone, the Federal Research Institute for Forestry estimates the costs of this necessary forest restructuring at 14–43 billion euros. Time is of the essence. Already, some 500,000 hectares of degraded forest will have to be reforested or naturally rejuvenated in the next few years. In order to counteract the trend of increasing forest damage and to guarantee the ecosystem services of forests in the long term, both public and private sector support is needed for forest conversion and sustainable forest management.
For all project types, myclimate essentially uses a conservative calculation from carbon modelling. For example, carbon proven to be stored in the soil is generally not included in calculations for forest projects. Calculating this soil carbon is fraught with uncertainty and is very time-consuming and expensive. In forest development models, too, a more rigorous, robust calculation is used to ensure that the promised amount of CO₂ is actually saved or sequestered. In addition, 10 to 20 per cent of the potential certificates for every forest project are transferred to a pooled risk fund for the certification standard in question. In other words, if part of a forest is destroyed by fire or storm, or if the forest fails to deliver the predicted climate performance for other reasons, these emissions would be captured and stopped by the risk fund.
Plants must generally be cared for to prevent total or partial failure. Even with the best tree care trees can sometimes be lost – which is also true of a naturally mature forest. In projects supported by myclimate, only surviving trees are included in carbon calculations. Failure – including due to other uses – is factored in and is included in the respective carbon accounting model and monitoring. This ensures that promises of climate protection impact can demonstrably be fulfilled.
An effective forest climate protection project has to meet a number of key criteria to benefit the climate as well as the local communities and biodiversity. Every climate protection project that myclimate supports has to fulfil these basic criteria. There are even additional criteria for land use and forestry (LUF) projects in the myclimate portfolio. Before deciding to support a certain project, myclimate conducts thorough due diligence.
First and foremost, the permanence (longevity) of the measures taken is of key importance. All forest projects run for several decades in order to effectively store large amounts of CO₂ and thus remove it from the atmosphere. The sustainability of these projects is strengthened, among other things, by fire prevention measures, protection against damage as a result of browsing by game and regular monitoring. In addition, care is taken to ensure that a high level of motivation remains in place to continue the measures even after the project has ended.
As with all climate projection projects, forest projects have to guarantee additionality to be certified. This means that it must be proven that additional climate performance can only be achieved thanks to the CO₂ funding and the associated measures. For forest conservation projects, this means that only new forest areas can be placed under protection over the entire project period of at least 30 to 99 years and verified as climate protection projects.
For reforestation projects and projects with improved forestry, it must be demonstrated that the project measures go far beyond the minimum legal requirements and the usual forestry practice and that there is no economic incentive for forest conservation without the project. These requirements are audited by myclimate, the relevant standard and an external auditor. Existing protected forest ecosystems do not meet the criteria for such an audit and therefore cannot be included as a programme.
Another important aspect is the projects’ social and economic integrity. Forests are not only of great ecological importance around the world, but also of essential economic and social importance. The regional needs of forest owners and forest users must always be taken into account. In international projects, this means that local communities must be involved in the projects. Each project must demonstrate FPIC (free, prior and informed consent). Projects are only implemented with general approval and after sufficient information has been provided to the local population.
Projects must also provide additional benefits to local people, for example through new sources of income such as forestry, honey production, payment for ecosystem services (PES) or the creation of additional jobs such as rangers and project staff. These conditions are intended to counteract the risks of possible carbon leakage effects, i.e. the risk that the saved emissions will be generated by the relocation and intensification of clearing on other land in the same region.
Finally, environmental integrity and promotion of biodiversity are central elements of every forest climate protection project. This includes, for example, reforestation with diverse local tree species that are adapted to the given conditions and provide ideal habitats for local flora and fauna, or near-natural forest management that includes additional ecological interventions, such as the preservation of habitat trees, the establishment of protected habitats for endangered species including the beaver, and conservation-based land use.
To ensure and monitor that trees and forests are retained in the long term and the desired climate impact actually comes about, projects are regularly reviewed – once a year by the standard and myclimate, and every five years by independent external auditors.
You can find further exciting information on the subject of climate change and climate protection in our climate booklet
