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Context and Future Directions for Integrating Forest Carbon into Sub-National Climate Mitigation Planning in the RGGI+ Region of the U.S.
  • +19
  • Rachel Lamb,
  • George Hurtt,
  • TeeJay Boudreau,
  • Elliott Campbell,
  • Edil A. Sepúlveda Carlo,
  • Hong-Hanh Chu,
  • Jennifer de Mooy,
  • Ralph Dubayah,
  • Dena Gonsalves,
  • Madeleine Guy,
  • Nathan Hultman,
  • Shawn Lehman,
  • Bennet Leon,
  • Andrew Lister,
  • Cary Lynch,
  • Lei Ma,
  • Martin Christopher,
  • Nathan Robbins,
  • Rudee Alexander,
  • Carlos E. Silva,
  • Christopher Skoglund,
  • Hao Tang
Rachel Lamb
University of Maryland, College Park

Corresponding Author:rachlamb@terpmail.umd.edu

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George Hurtt
University of Maryland, College Park
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TeeJay Boudreau
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
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Elliott Campbell
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
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Edil A. Sepúlveda Carlo
SSAI / NASA-GSFC
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Hong-Hanh Chu
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
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Jennifer de Mooy
Delaware Division of Climate
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Ralph Dubayah
University of Maryland, College Park
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Dena Gonsalves
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
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Madeleine Guy
University of Maryland, College Park
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Nathan Hultman
University of Maryland, College Park
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Shawn Lehman
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
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Bennet Leon
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
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Andrew Lister
USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis
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Cary Lynch
The Nature Conservancy
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Lei Ma
University of Maryland
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Martin Christopher
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
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Nathan Robbins
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
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Rudee Alexander
World Resources Institute
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Carlos E. Silva
University of Maryland, College Park
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Christopher Skoglund
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
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Hao Tang
University of Maryland, College Park
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Abstract

International frameworks for climate mitigation that build from national actions have been developed under the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change and advanced most recently through the Paris Climate Agreement. In parallel, sub-national actors have set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and developed corresponding climate mitigation plans. Within the U.S., multi-state coalitions have formed to facilitate coordination of related science and policy. Here, utilizing the forum of the NASA Carbon Monitoring System’s Multi-State Working Group (MSWG), we collected and reviewed climate mitigation plans for 11 states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) region of the Eastern U.S. For each state we reviewed the 1) policy framework for climate mitigation, 2) GHG reduction goals, 3) inclusion of forest carbon in the state’s climate action plan, 4) existing science used to estimate forest carbon, and 5) stated needs for carbon monitoring science. Across the region, we found important differences across all categories. While all states have GHG reduction goals and framework documents, nearly three-quarters of all states do not account for forest carbon when planning GHG reductions; those that do account for forest carbon use a variety of scientific methods with various levels of planning detail and guidance. We suggest that a common, efficient, standardized forest carbon monitoring system would provide important benefits to states and the geographic region as a whole. In addition, such a system would allow for more effective transparency and progress tracking to support state, national, and international efforts to increase ambition and implementation of climate goals.
01 Jun 2021Published in Environmental Research Letters volume 16 issue 6 on pages 063001. 10.1088/1748-9326/abe6c2