In this webinar, Jonah Busch, Research Fellow at Center for Global Development, discusses how an international REDD+ mechanism can be used to make payments for forests' biodiversity as well as for carbon emission reduction. Paradoxically, under conditions consistent with emerging REDD+ programmes, money spent on a mixture of carbon payments and biodiversity payments can incentivize the provision of greater climate benefits than an equal amount of money spent only on carbon payments. Jonah expands on these points in a recent working paper. (Abstract below)
Abstract
An international mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation using carbon payments (REDD+) can be leveraged to make payments for forests’ biodiversity as well. Paradoxically, under conditions consistent with emerging REDD+ programs, money spent on a mixture of carbon payments and biodiversity payments has the potential to incentivize the provision of greater climate benefits than an equal amount of money spent only on carbon payments.
This paradoxical result arises when diversifying payments across multiple services allows a funding agency to spend less on additional rents to existing suppliers of avoided deforestation and more on incentivizing the participation of new suppliers.