The problem

Measures are required to reduce the environmental impact of climate change. The EU has the long-term target of limiting global warming to two degrees above its pre-industrial level. A first step towards reaching this goal is the Union’s pledge under the Kyoto Protocol to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 8% from 1990 to 2010. The Protocol provides provisions for using carbon sinks to meet this commitment. Agricultural and forestry activities could be adapted to enhance their role as carbon sinks. However, suitable analytical tools for quantifying economic feasibility and carbon sink benefits are lacking.

Overview:

INSEA will provide analytical tools to assess the carbon sink potential of land-use change.

The project will:

• Integrate economic, environmental and spatial land-use data into a modelling framework for testing terrestrial climate change mitigation methods
• Evaluate a range of carbon sink enhancement options in terms of implementation costs and greenhouse gas management benefits

Contribution to policy development:

INSEA will:

• Provide policy-makers with information to support the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and to help in post-Kyoto negotiations
• Provide independent validation for carbon sink strategies
• Help to shape the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector in situations where the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions is at a stake

Project deliverables

• Cost-landscape assessment – Month 18
• Report on cost functions of different land uses – Month 22
• Report on carbon sink potential of LULUCF scenarios – Month 27
• Report on policy implications – Month 29

Dissemination

• Website – Month 6
• Main project reports – Month 13, 25 and 30
• Workshops – Month 6
• Newsletters – Month 6
• Internet database – Month 18

Technical information

Project acronym: INSEA
Project’s official full title: Integrated Sink Enhancement Assessment
Research priority: 1.5. Environmental assessment (soil, water, air, noise, including the effects of chemical substances)
Specific webpage: http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/FOR/INSEA/index.html
Proposal/contract no: 503614
Start date: Not available
Kick off meeting: Not available
Completion date: Not available
European Commission scientific officer: Daniel Deybe (Daniel.deybe@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Abbreviated name: IIASA
Address: A-2361 Laxenburg
Country: Austria
Tel: +43 2236 807 460
Fax: +43 2236 71313
Website: http://www.iiasa.ac.at

Partners

Name: Joint Research Centre (Ispra)
Abbreviated name: JRC
Country: Italy

Name: Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources
Abbreviated name: BGR
Country: Germany

Name: Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute
Abbreviated name: SSCRI
Country: Slovakia

Name: Lulea University of Technology
Abbreviated name: LTU
Country: Sweden

Name: University of Hohenheim
Abbreviated name: UHOH
Country: Germany

Name: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
Abbreviated name: INRA
Country: France

Name: Joanneum Research
Abbreviated name: JR
Country: Austria

Name: University of Bodenkultur
Abbreviated name: BOKU
Country: Austria

Name: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
Abbreviated name: CIRAD
Country: France

Name: European Forest Institute
Abbreviated name: EFI
Country: Finland