“Improving uncertainty in forest carbon accounting for REDD+ mitigation efforts” by Ruth Yanai, Craig Wayson, Donna Lee, Andres Espejo, John Campbell, Mark Green, Jenna M. Zukswert, Shira Yoffe, Juliann Aukema, Andy Lister, Jim Kirchner, Javier Garcia Perez Gamarra. 2020. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12):4002 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb96f. This is a product of QUEST and also of QUERCA.
QUERCA (Quantifying Uncertainty Estimates and Risk in Carbon Accounting) was founded by Wayson, Yanai, Campbell and Green in 2019 to address the need to improve uncertainty calculations for country-level carbon accounting. Accounting for uncertainty is essential for assessing confidence in reductions of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Quantifying uncertainty requires technical expertise in error propagation, which is currently lacking, as shown by some countries reporting errors an order of magnitude smaller than the individual sources of error (see the paper just published). The reported uncertainty affects the payment a country can receive for reducing carbon emissions.
QUERCA is currently funded by the US Department of State and US Agency for International Development. A survey is under development to assess the need for assistance in carbon accounting by countries participating in REDD+ programs. We will create peer-reviewed tools and approaches for error propagation that are well documented and easy to use by carbon accounting technicians and researchers. Future goals of QUERCA will include building capacity among the users by sharing these tools and approaches via meetings, code sharing, bibliographies, and direct collaboration with participating programs.
