ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATING PROCESS Emissions from forest harvesting and wood products

Background

The issue of methodologies for assessing emissions from harvested wood products was first taken up by SBSTA 4 (March 1996). At that session, Parties welcomed the convening by the IPCC of an expert group meeting on this issue, and requested the secretariat to prepare a scoping study on methodologies relating to harvested wood products, taking into account the outcome of this meeting. An expert meeting convened by the IPCC-OECD-IEA Programme on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories on "Evaluating approaches for estimating net emission of carbon dioxide from forest harvesting and wood products" took place in May 1998 in Dakar, Senegal. The report on the meeting was made available by the IPCC during SBSTA 10 (June 1999). Further discussion on the issue took place at SBSTA 11 (October/November 1999), where the SBSTA invited Parties to submit their views on approaches for estimating and accounting emissions of carbon dioxide from forest harvesting and wood products, taking into account the report of the IPCC expert meeting, for consideration by SBSTA 14.

Latest developments

At SBSTA 14 (meeting together with COP 6 part II in Bonn, July 2001), Parties took note of submissions made by Parties on issues relating to emissions from forest harvesting and wood products. In doing so, Parties welcomed the initiative of New Zealand in convening a workshop on the issue in February 2001 (for the Chairman’s summary of this workshop, see the appendix to the New Zealand submission). The SBSTA decided to consider the matter further at its fifteenth session.

Next steps

Further discussions on forest harvesting and wood products will take place at SBSTA 15 (meeting together with COP 7 in Marrakesh, October/November 2001).

Documents for the upcoming session

FCCC/SBSTA/2001/MISC.1 (first considered at SBSTA 14) Submissions from Parties on issues related to emissions from forest harvesting and wood products

Key conclusions

Report on SBSTA 14 Para. 21 Report on SBSTA 11 Para. 69 Report on SBSTA 10 Paras. 57 Report on SBSTA 4 Para. 33

This agenda item is supported by the Methodology and Science Sub-Programme