Abstract:

Under the United Nations framework convention on climate change(UNFCCC), all parties are required to report their greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions and removals. The carbon stocks of harvested wood products (HWP) are also a part of greenhouse gases (GHG) inventory. Forest harvest and wood product consumption play an important role in the carbon balance between forests and atmosphere. Consumption of wood products emits carbon, especially they are used in the landfill. However, the definitions and accounting approaches of HWP are still uncertainty. The implication of approaches applying in different countries is unclear. To impulse the ongoing international negotiation, this paper discussed the definitions and accounting approaches within the documents of UNFCCC and intergovernmental panel on climate change(IPCC) report, and also expanded the implication of HWP from a new position, which gave prominence to equity. In addition, this paper firstly put forward the new definition of carbon quality.

Key words: harvested wood products, implication, carbon quality, category, accounting approach