6 June 2014, IISD news -  Brazil submitted information and data on  its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in the forest sector to the UNFCCC  Secretariat, becoming the first developing country to voluntarily submit such  data for assessment by technical experts. This information and data form the  basis for Brazil's forest reference emission level (FREL) for the Amazon biome,  where Brazil has been collecting forest data since 1988.

Brazilian Head of Delegation, Minister Raphael Azeredo, presented his  country's submission to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres on  the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.  Azeredo said that REDD+ is key to unlocking the forest mitigation potential  in many developing countries and urged developed countries "to demonstrate their  engagement with REDD+ by scaling up financial support for results-based  actions." Figueres said the submission further signals countries' commitments to "address the drivers of climate change at the domestic level ahead of the new  universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015."

Louis Verchot, climate scientist, the Center for International Forestry  Research (CIFOR), said countries that lack the capacity to undertake FREL  calculations could still follow Brazil's lead and apply "a stepwise approach to  measuring emissions using available information and improving measurements  as they build capacity."

Deforestation accounts for more than 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions,  making action on forests critical, according to the UNFCCC. At the UN  Climate Change Conference in Warsaw in November 2013, governments agreed on the  Warsaw Framework for REDD+, a package of seven decisions, which include  eligibility requirements, including reference levels, for accessing payments for  REDD+ actions. Reference levels serve as benchmarks for assessing  performance in the implementation of REDD+ activities.

Following the adoption of the Warsaw Framework, Brazil formed a technical  group of scientists from universities, research institutes and government to  calculate a reference emission level for Brazilian Amazonia.

Source: http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/brazil-voluntarily-submits-key-data-on-emission-reductions-in-forest-sector/