Will credits from avoided deforestation in developing countries jeopardize the balance of the carbon market?

Introduction Avoiding emissions from deforestation as a greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation activity in the international climate policy regime has been under discussion since 1995, when the pilot phase of activities implemented jointly (AIJ) for GHG abatement projects in developing countries and countries in transition was initiated. While the Marrakech Accords did not allow credits from avoided deforestation in the clean development mechanism (CDM), the topic has resurfaced in the negotiations for climate policy regime after 2012, now under the acronym REDD (reductions of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation). We will give a short description of the negotiation history as a background for the subsequent assessment of REDD’s contribution to the carbon market.