Evaluating nature-based solutions for climate mitigation and conservation requires comprehensive carbon accounting

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dc.contributor.authorKeith, Heather
dc.contributor.authorVardon, Michael
dc.contributor.authorObst, Carl
dc.contributor.authorYoung, Virginia
dc.contributor.authorHoughton, Richard A
dc.contributor.authorMackey, Brendan
dc.date.accessioned2022-11-15T03:55:00Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2021-11-28T07:28:18Z
dc.description.abstractNature-based solutions (NbS) can address climate change, biodiversity loss, human well-being and their interactions in an integrated way. A major barrier to achieving this is the lack of comprehensiveness in current carbon accounting which has focused on flows rather than stocks of carbon and led to perverse outcomes. We propose a new comprehensive approach to carbon accounting based on the whole carbon cycle, covering both stocks and flows, and linking changes due to human activities with responses in the biosphere and atmosphere. We identify enhancements to accounting, namely; inclusion of all carbon reservoirs, changes in their condition and stability, disaggregated flows, and coverage of all land areas. This comprehensive approach recognises that both carbon stocks (as storage) and carbon flows (as sequestration) contribute to the ecosystem service of global climate regulation. In contrast, current ecosystem services measurement and accounting commonly use only carbon sequestration measured as net flows, while greenhouse gas inventories use flows from sources to sinks. This flow-based accounting has incentivised planting and maintaining young forests with high carbon uptake rates, resulting, perversely, in failing to reveal the greater mitigation benefit from protecting larger, more stable and resilient carbon stocks in natural forests. We demonstrate the benefits of carbon storage and sequestration for climate mitigation, in theory as ecosystem services within an ecosystem accounting framework, and in practice using field data that reveals differences in results between accounting for stocks or flows. Our proposed holistic and comprehensive carbon accounting makes transparent the benefits, trade-offs and shortcomings of NbS actions for climate mitigation and sustainability outcomes. Adopting this approach is imperative for revision of ecosystem accounting systems under the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting and contributing to evidence-based decision-making for international conventions on climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD) and sustainability (SDGs).en_AU
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.issn0048-9697en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/279684
dc.language.isoen_AUen_AU
dc.publisherElsevieren_AU
dc.rights© 2021 Elsevier B.V.en_AU
dc.sourceScience of the Total Environmenten_AU
dc.subjectNature-based solutionsen_AU
dc.subjectCarbon accountingen_AU
dc.subjectClimate regulation serviceen_AU
dc.subjectCarbon storage and sequestrationen_AU
dc.subjectEcosystem integrityen_AU
dc.subjectSystem of Environmental-Economic Accountingen_AU
dc.titleEvaluating nature-based solutions for climate mitigation and conservation requires comprehensive carbon accountingen_AU
dc.typeJournal articleen_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage15en_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage1en_AU
local.contributor.affiliationKeith, Heather, Griffith Universityen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationVardon, Michael, College of Science, ANUen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationObst, Carl, University of Melbourneen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationYoung, Virginia, Australian Rainforest Conservation Societyen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationHoughton, Richard A, Woodwell Climate Research Centreen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationMackey, Brendan, Griffith Universityen_AU
local.contributor.authoremailu9209418@anu.edu.auen_AU
local.contributor.authoruidVardon, Michael, u9209418en_AU
local.description.embargo2099-12-31
local.description.notesImported from ARIESen_AU
local.identifier.absfor410401 - Conservation and biodiversityen_AU
local.identifier.absfor380105 - Environment and resource economicsen_AU
local.identifier.absfor380201 - Cross-sectional analysisen_AU
local.identifier.ariespublicationu1055894xPUB302en_AU
local.identifier.citationvolume769en_AU
local.identifier.doi10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144341en_AU
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByu1055894en_AU
local.publisher.urlhttps://www.elsevier.com/en-auen_AU
local.type.statusPublished Versionen_AU

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