Abstract:With the increasingly serious problem of global climate change, people's requirements for life and environment are getting higher and higher, and China put forward the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" in 2020. Among them, forestry carbon sequestration is one of the most important forms, which truly achieves carbon peak and carbon neutrality, connects ecology and society, and produces benefits.
Therefore, this paper focuses on the development status and practice of forestry carbon sinks under the background of "dual carbon", aiming to better help achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
This article was published in the first issue of Smart China in 2024.
Improving the carbon sink capacity of the forestry system is one of the important ways to achieve carbon neutrality, but the destruction of the forestry system will turn the existing carbon storage function into a carbon source. How to rationally develop and protect forestry resources to achieve sustainable development has great potential and value for achieving the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. 1. Forestry carbon sequestration
As global climate change intensifies, countries** and the international community are beginning to pay attention to how to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to our common forest system, forestry also includes wetland system, desertification system and grassland system, which provides a lot of positive energy in the greenhouse effect and plays an important supporting role. WhileForestry carbon sequestration refers to the process of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through biological resources such as forests, wetlands, and grasslands, and converting it into organic matter or fixing it in plants and soil.
There are three main ways to achieve this:
One isplant photosynthesis, in which plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic matter through photosynthesis;
The second isOrganic matter such as plant debris, fallen leaves and animal feces decompose in the soil to form humus, which can absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and store it in the soil;
The third isEcosystem services, such as water conservation, soil and water conservation, and air purification, can help mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At present, forestry carbon sequestration has become the focus of attention of the international community. Countries, enterprises and non-governmental organizations have increased investment and support for forestry carbon sequestration projects, so as to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental development through the development of forestry carbon sequestration industry. China is also one of them. In recent years, China has continuously increased its efforts to promote the construction of forestry carbon sinks and has achieved remarkable results. As of 2021, there have been more than in the country20 million hectaresland is included in the forest carbon sequestration project. More than 30 per cent of these areas are already covered by forests, providing the country with a large carbon sink.
2. Analysis of the development status of forestry carbon sinks
China's forestry has great potential for carbon neutrality, and forest protection projects cannot be ignored
China is the country with the largest area of planted forests in the world, and at present, the forest coverage rate has reached 2304%, the forest area reached 2200 million hectares. From the perspective of stand structure, the area of young and middle-aged forest resources in China accounts for 6094%, which is in the high growth stage, will continue to exert a higher carbon sequestration rate and greater carbon sink growth potential. Our country proposed,By 2025, the national forest coverage rate will reach 241%, and the forest coverage rate will reach about 25% by 2030There is great potential for forest carbon sequestration.
Since the 80s of the last century, China's forest area and forest quality have been growing rapidly, and from the data of forest resources survey, it can be seen that China's forestry sink increase path is mainly through afforestation before 2016. From 2020 to 2060, the path of increasing foreign exchange will mainly be through forest management. According to the existing model**, Beijing Forestry University can reach an annual carbon sink through forest management from 2020 to 20604.3~5.700 million tons, the carbon sink through afforestation is 01~2.100 million tons, and the carbon sink emitted by deforestation is 108-6.1.2 billion tons. Forest management and afforestation are top priorities for increasing sinks, but it cannot be overlooked that avoiding deforestation can lead to more forest conservation projects, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and its potential is huge. According to the research results of Tsinghua University on China's long-term low-carbon development strategy and transition pathway, it can be seen that by 2050, it will be 15 Under the goal guidance, the contribution of forestry to carbon neutrality can reach 14% to 22%.
The "carbon pricing" mechanism is very critical, and China's carbon price is expected to rise
Globally, a total of 73 carbon pricing systems are being implemented in 2023, including carbon trading and carbon taxes. Different places have different carbon resources and different carbon reduction costs, so the choice isTrading mechanism pricing or carbon tax pricingThe considerations are different.
At present, there are three main types of situations:
Category IFor example, in a region with high emission reduction costs, it is no longer enough to generate incentives by simply adopting one pricing mechanism, so multiple pricing methods will be used;
Category IIIt is a region that applies the carbon emission trading system alone, including China, and tries to use the market to price carbon in a spontaneous trading way, so as to guide our production and operation and force enterprises to reduce emissions;
Category IIIIt's the regions that simply apply carbon taxes, such as some very small economies, some smaller countries, and they will use this relatively simple and direct way to put a price on their carbon dioxide emissions.
From the perspective of the global situation, whether it is the application of the carbon market or the carbon tax, it is showing an upward trend. Recently, with the deepening of the Belt and Road policy, the carbon market of more Belt and Road countries has been implemented, or is in preparation or preparing to be implemented, in the long run, China's carbon price is expected to continue to rise in the future, which is relatively positive for carbon market practitioners, both from the global development trend and China's development trend.
The development of forestry carbon sequestration is in its infancy, and opportunities and adjustments coexist
The construction of carbon pools and the development of carbon sinks complement each other. The carbon sink is the resource base for the development of carbon sink projects, and the development of carbon sink can bring economic benefits to the carbon pool. The development of forestry carbon sinks and participation in market transactions to generate additional economic value is a relatively economical means of carbon absorption recognized worldwide, and it is also a typical path to realize the value of ecological products by practicing the "Two Mountains Theory". Since 2012, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading (CAME) clarified that voluntary emission reductions (CCER) after filing and certification can participate in carbon trading, and forestry carbon sequestration has become one of the main directions of CCER. However, at present, a total of 15 forestry carbon sequestration CCER projects have been registered in China, mainly distributed in Guangdong, Hebei and Inner Mongolia.
In recent years, China's policies on CCER, carbon sinks, carbon tickets and other related policies have been introduced, and many documents currently mention that it is necessary to consolidate and improve the carbon sink capacity of the forestry system, carry out carbon emission trading pilots, and explore the inclusion of forestry carbon sink projects in carbon emission trading. With the frequent introduction of national policies, the introduction of financial products, the increase of consulting institutions and the emergence of scientific and technological achievements, forestry carbon sequestration projects have gained unprecedented attention. Now the forestry carbon sink has a platform for the realization of the value of ecological products, which broadens a financing channel for the development of the entire industry, and also provides a trading platform for the realization of the value of ecological products, which is how our lucid waters and lush mountains become gold and silver mountains, which is a great development opportunity. And facedOne of the core challenges is how to increase the storage per unit area of carbon sequestration and sink enhancement technology; The second is how to use market mechanisms to help forestry developmentto help our country achieve our three goals.
3. Practical strategies for the development of forestry carbon sinks
Intensify publicity and expand influence
While promoting forestry carbon sequestration projects, it is necessary to strengthen publicity and extension work. Only through extensive publicity and popularization can more people understand and recognize the concept and significance of forestry carbon sink, so as to promote its further development and application. The department should play a leading role, formulate relevant policies and regulations and implement them to ensure the smooth progress of forestry carbon sequestration work, and make full use of the relevant content as an important publicity channel to release relevant content to the general public through Weibo, WeChat and other means, so as to convey information about forestry carbon sequestration to the public, improve public awareness and understanding of the field, and attract more people's attention and participation. In addition, enterprises and social organizations also need to join in to jointly promote the development of forestry carbon sequestration. Encourage them to carry out relevant activities in their respective fields, such as holding lectures, exhibitions, etc., or use their own resources to invest in forestry carbon sequestration projects, contribute to the protection of the environment, and can also achieve a bumper harvest of economic and social benefits. By continuously stimulating the interest and enthusiasm of all sectors of society, we will promote the healthy and sustainable development of forestry carbon sequestration.
Establishment of Green Carbon**
Countries** and international organizations are beginning to explore ways to use forestry resources to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. One of the important ways is:Promote the development of forestry carbon sinks through the establishment of green carbon**。Green Carbon** is a pool of funds dedicated to supporting the conservation and sustainable management of forests. It can provide financial support to forest managers to help them carry out forest land restoration, afforestation, ecotourism and more. At the same time, it can also provide investment opportunities for social capital investors to achieve a win-win situation for both parties. At present, some countries in the world have established similar green carbon**, which can not only promote the development of local forestry carbon sinks, but also drive the economic development of the whole country. In China, there are also many places where related work has begun. For example, Yunnan Province has established the Yunnan Luyuan Association, which aims to support local farmers to participate in forest protection and sustainable management; Shanghai is also actively promoting urban greening plans and has set up corresponding financial subsidy policies. The development of green carbon should be adapted to local conditions, actively explore the capitalization, projectization and financialization of forestry carbon sinks and carbon tickets, continue to promote the application of 'forestry carbon sequestration +' loans, insurance, collection and storage, credit enhancement and other scenarios, and continuously expand the use of forestry carbon sinks.
Intensify personnel training
Talent is one of the important forces to promote the development of forestry carbon sequestration. ** The department should introduce relevant policies and measures to encourage enterprises and social organizations to invest in talent training. Colleges and universities can offer specialized courses and professional degrees to meet market demand. In addition, various forms of competitions and activities can be held to improve the professionalism and teamwork ability of practitioners. At the same time, for those who have already entered the field, they also need to constantly learn new knowledge and skills, and constantly improve their professional qualities. To this end, they can be provided with a variety of ways to choose, such as ** education platform, distance teaching, and so on. In addition,The establishment of relevant topics to encourage the development of carbon sinks to promote the mutual transformation between government, academia, research and industry can also promote the progress and development of the entire industry.
Reduce the development cost of forestry carbon sequestration projects
In the current environment, not only the protection and sustainable use of forestry resources have become a global issue, but also the "carbon tax" policy at home and abroad has been gradually introduced, and the value of carbon emission rights has become increasingly prominent. As an important carbon emission right, forestry carbon sequestration has become one of the important tasks of all countries. However, due to the influence of various factors, such as land use rights disputes, insufficient funds and other problems, the development of forestry carbon sequestration projects often faces many difficulties. How to further reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of forestry carbon sequestration project development has become an urgent problem to be solved.
In view of this problem, we can start from the following aspects: we should establish a sound legal and regulatory system and standardize the forest land property rights system, especiallyProtect the rights and interests of forest farmers or local residents engaged in forest land protection；There is a need to increase financial investment and provide more support policies to encourage enterprises to participate in forestry carbon sequestration projects, while ensuring that funds flow to nature conservation projects; The efficiency and effectiveness of forestry carbon sequestration projects can also be improved through technological innovation and optimization of management models. Reducing the development cost of forestry carbon sequestration projects is a very important task, only in this way can we better promote the development of forestry carbon sequestration and make greater contributions to environmental protection.
Develop high-quality forestry carbon sequestration projects
As a new economic model, forestry carbon sequestration can provide a new value chain and development direction for forestry resources. By carrying out forestry carbon sequestration projects, greenhouse gas emissions can be effectively reduced, ecological balance restoration and maintenance can be promoted, and sustainable benefits can also be brought to the local economy. However, despite the importance of forestry carbon sequestration, there are still some problems that need to be solved in the process of its development. EspeciallyIt is necessary to vigorously develop carbon sequestration and sequestration technologies, make full use of the ability of natural distribution areas to develop additional carbon sequestration by improving the technical level, make forests mature forests through sustainable conservation technologies, further enhance carbon sequestration potential through community-driven ecosystem restoration and management, and reconnect fragmented forest patches, and maximize the carbon sequestration potential of forest ecosystems by improving biodiversity. The development of high-quality forestry carbon sequestration projects can effectively mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure the sustainable development of society and nature. To sum up, in order to solve the atmospheric problem and change the status quo of global warming, the development concept of carbon peak and carbon neutrality has been proposed, and the development of forestry carbon sinks has been accelerated under the background of "double carbon", so as to realize the concept of sustainable development, promote the environmental protection of the earth, and make people aware of the importance of ecological environmental protection. (The author is the director of the Carbon Neutrality Committee of the China Forestry and Environment Promotion Association; Vice Chairman of the Carbon Neutrality Professional Committee of the China Forestry and Environment Promotion Association).
Original content, **Please contact.
For more information on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, please pay attention to: Linhuan Carbon.
Forestry carbon sinks