Summary
The submissions by Parties on harvested wood products include some common objectives and key issues, as well as diverging views and inconsistencies. There appears to be considerable confusion on some elements, but most are easily addressed.
Approaches to accounting for harvested wood products are discussed in relation to the Parties' comments. The approaches considered include the current IPCC recommended default and three others known as the Stock Change approach, the Production approach and the Atmospheric Flow approach.
A Simple Decay approach is also proposed and discussed. The current IPCC approach is to assume instant emissions at harvest, which is unlikely to accurately represent atmospheric exchanges. The Simple Decay approach includes a more accurate timing of emissions. The impacts of this approach are demonstrated, showing emissions reported could be lower in future periods than if the current IPCC default is retained. The acceptability of the Simple Decay approach is discussed in relation to Parties' comments.
The conclusion is that there are two issues to be considered rather than one. The first is the treatment of harvesting emissions resulting from activities since 1990. This includes the timing of emissions as well as the allocation of responsibility for emissions. The second issue relates to the management of wood product stocks, with due consideration of activities that might recycle a product or extend its useful life. This issue should address consistency with the treatment of other products, as well as impacts on trade.
Justin Ford-Robertson Ford-Robertson Initiatives Ltd 7 Lynmore Avenue, Rotorua New Zealand Tel/fax: +64 7 345 7868 Email: justinfr@clear.net.nz
June 2003
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Policy Analyst - Forestry
Innovation and Research
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
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