ClimateWorks Foundation

Sector Overview
Climate and Land Use Alliance

Sector Overview

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation, forest degradation, and agricultural production is a key aspect of the global response to climate change. Emissions from deforestation and other land use changes account for fully 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so any effort to combat climate change must include a focus on reforming land use practices.

Climate and Land Use Alliance

To address the pressures associated with deforestation and land use changes, ClimateWorks helped found the Climate and Land Use Alliance, a collaborative initiative with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Ford Foundation to catalyze the potential of forests and agricultural land to mitigate climate change and provide economic, social, and ecological benefits. Our shared strategy reflects the following three principles:

• The global response to climate change will be unsuccessful without significant reductions in deforestation and forest degradation and improved agricultural practices
• To meaningfully reduce deforestation and enhance the ability of land to store carbon, we have to address the forces that drive agricultural practices and expansion into forested areas, including the growing global demand for food, fuel and fiber
• Success will require that we simultaneously protect the livelihoods and rights of indigenous people and poor rural communities