Understanding Land Use in the UNFCCC

Greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use are critical to combat climate change. Due to technical characteristics, decisions under the UNFCCC related to the sector have developed differently. It has come to be seen as an arcane and complex subject, impenetrable to the average person and even to skilled negotiators. The objective of the guide Understanding Land Use in the UNFCCC is to change this perception and increase the technical understanding of how emissions and removals from the land sector—referred to as land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) or agriculture, forests and other land use (AFOLU)—are treated under the UNFCCC. This report was produced by independent authors with financial support from the Climate and Land Use Alliance and financial, technical and operational support from FCMC.