Public policy and climate change are irrevocably connected. From international climate change conferences in Kyoto, Copenhagen and Cancun to carbon dioxide regulations in many major cities, governments everywhere create public policy to manage the effects of climate change on the environment and the economy. Many of these policies also affect life right here in the Great Lakes region, where agriculture and the manufacturing industry are just two of the major business sectors affected by climate change regulations.
Public policy researchers at Ohio State University and other institutions are studying the various policies governments create to manage climate change in the Great Lakes region and beyond, and they are making some fascinating connections along the way. This area of ChangingClimate.osu.edu aims to introduce the public to their findings, provide information about upcoming public events where researchers speak about their results, and offer additional resources to those wanting to learn more about how local, national and international governments are trying to manage a growing global problem that is already affecting Ohio and its neighboring states.
Forestry and the Carbon Market Response to Stabilize Climate
This paper investigates the potential contribution of forestry management in achieving a goal of stabilizing atmospheric CO2 at 550 ppm by 2100. Two global models are coupled to assess the optimal balance between the global carbon market and forest carbon sequestration, linking climate policies with detailed forestry models to find an optimal carbon management strategy. Results show that forests are a major part of reducing atmospheric carbon, and forestry management could significantly reduce the cost of that reduction, potentially preventing a temperature rise of about 0.25 degrees Celsius globally. This carbon sequestration will mostly come from avoiding deforestation in countries with tropical forests, and could actually be more cost-effective in the mitigation of climate change than more traditional changes like cleaner technologies.