REDD+ is a voluntary climate change mitigation framework developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It aims to encourage developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and to promote conservation, sustainable forest management, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks through financial incentives and policy support. The acronym is commonly expanded as "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries", and the "+" denotes the additional forest conservation and enhancement activities included in the UNFCCC scope.
UNFCCC decisions describe REDD+ as a phased approach, beginning with "readiness" activities (planning, capacity-building and institutional development), moving to implementation of national policies and measures, and evolving toward results-based actions that are fully measured, reported and verified. Countries undertaking REDD+ are expected to develop a national strategy or action plan, establish a forest reference (emission) level (FREL/FRL) as a benchmark for assessing performance, and build a national forest monitoring system to support monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). UNFCCC decisions also include social and environmental safeguards (often referred to as the Cancún safeguards) and require countries seeking results-based payments to provide information on how safeguards are addressed and respected.
REDD+ is supported through a mix of multilateral and bilateral channels and can receive results-based finance when reported results meet UNFCCC methodological and transparency requirements under the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus. A 2024 multi-country impact evaluation reported modest average forest outcomes and limited average welfare effects, with impacts not always sustained over time. Reviews and methodological assessments highlight uncertainties in baselines (reference levels), additionality, leakage, non-permanence and measurement capacity, especially for forest degradation and carbon pools that are harder to quantify. Criticisms and controversies also focus on governance and equity issues, including land tenure and carbon rights, benefit sharing, and the participation and consent of Indigenous peoples and local communities, alongside broader debates over the role of forest offsets in climate policy.
REDD+ remains an active part of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement architecture. Most of the core UNFCCC decisions that define REDD+ were adopted between 2010 and 2015, including the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus (2013). Countries continue to report REDD+ results through technical annexes to developing-country reports, including under the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework via technical annexes to biennial transparency reports (BTRs). Results-based finance also continues through multilateral channels such as the Green Climate Fund's REDD+ results-based payments window.
Background Climate change mitigation context Deforestation and forest degradation are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, although their share of global emissions depends on accounting choices (for example, whether net land-use change fluxes that include forest regrowth are used). In 2019, the IPCC estimated net emissions from the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector at about 13 GtCO2-eq (about 22% of global net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions), and reported that about half of net AFOLU emissions were net CO2 emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), predominantly from deforestation. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is estimated to be one of the most cost-efficient climate change mitigation strategies. Regeneration of forest on degraded or deforested lands can remove CO2 from the atmosphere through the build-up of biomass, making forest lands a sink of greenhouse gases.
Reducing emissions Emissions of greenhouse gases from forest land can be reduced by slowing down the rates of deforestation and forest degradation, covered by REDD+ eligible activities. Another option would be some form of reduced-impact logging in commercial logging, under the REDD+ eligible activity of sustainable management of forests.
Enhancing removals Removals of greenhouse gases (specifically ) from the atmosphere can be achieved through various forest management options, such as replanting degraded or deforested areas or enrichment planting, but also by letting forest land regenerate naturally. Care must be taken to differentiate between what is a purely ecological process of regrowth and what is induced or enhanced through some management intervention.
History Terminology The UNFCCC workstream is commonly referred to as "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation", abbreviated as REDD+. In formal UNFCCC agenda items and decision titles, the Conference of the Parties (COP) has often spelled out the scope rather than relying on an acronym, while "REDD+" is widely used as shorthand in UNFCCC materials and the wider literature.
The original submission by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, dated 28 July 2005, was entitled "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries: Approaches to Stimulate Action". COP 11 entered the request as agenda item 6: "Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action".
As negotiations progressed, UNFCCC titles expanded from a focus on deforestation toward a broader scope that also covered forest degradation and the roles of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
The set of decisions on REDD+ adopted at COP 19 in Warsaw (2013) is collectively known as the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus, a label introduced in a footnote to the titles of the decisions. In common usage: REDD originally referred to "reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries" (as in the 2005–2007 agenda wording). REDD+ (or REDD-plus) is used for the broader scope that includes reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. Most of the key REDD+ decisions were completed by 2013, with the final pieces of the UNFCCC rulebook finished in 2015.
REDD (2005–2007) REDD was first discussed in 2005 under the UNFCCC at its 11th session of the Conference of the Parties after Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, submitted the proposal on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries.
In December 2007, after a two-year debate on the proposal, Parties at COP 13 agreed to explore approaches to reduce emissions from deforestation and to enhance forest carbon stocks in developing nations. The underlying idea was to provide positive incentives for reducing deforestation by assigning value to forest carbon. Early discussions often framed this as "avoided deforestation" (AD), and later broadened the scope to include forest degradation (REDD).
Policy debates included whether REDD should be financed through market mechanisms (tradable credits) or through non-market, fund-based approaches. Assessments also noted that implementation would require expanded scientific and regulatory capacity to quantify forest carbon, manage land use, and demonstrate emissions trends.
REDD+ (scope expands) Over time, UNFCCC decisions broadened the scope from deforestation alone to include forest degradation and the roles of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries—activities commonly associated with the "+" in REDD+.
Bali Action Plan (2007) REDD received substantial attention at COP 13 (Bali, 2007), where decision 2/CP.13 encouraged demonstration activities and called for assessment of drivers of deforestation. REDD+ was also referenced in decision 1/CP.13, the "Bali Action Plan", with reference to the range of activities later associated with REDD+ (including conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks).
The call for demonstration activities was followed by the creation of programmes and projects, including the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank, the UN-REDD Programme, and a range of bilateral initiatives. These initiatives drew on evolving UNFCCC guidance for REDD+.
Rulebook development (2009–2015) From 2009 onward, UNFCCC decisions progressively set out methodological guidance and institutional requirements for REDD+. At COP 15 (2009), decision 4/CP.15 provided more substantive methodological guidance and encouraged development of national strategies, capacity, and reference levels, alongside participatory approaches involving Indigenous peoples and local communities.
At COP 16 (2010), decision 1/CP.16 set out the broader REDD+ scope and introduced social and environmental safeguards (the Cancún safeguards), alongside expectations for national forest monitoring and phased implementation. At COP 17 (2011), decision 12/CP.17 provided additional guidance on safeguard information and reference level modalities.
At COP 19 (2013), seven decisions collectively known as the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus addressed results-based finance; coordination of support; modalities for national forest monitoring systems; presenting information on safeguards; technical assessment of reference levels; and MRV modalities. The remaining outstanding decisions on REDD+ were completed at COP 21 (2015), and Parties were encouraged to implement and support REDD+ in Article 5 of the Paris Agreement.
Framework
Phased approach Decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 73, suggests that national capacity for implementing REDD+ is built up in phases, "beginning with the development of national strategies or action plans, policies and measures, and capacity-building, followed by the implementation of national policies and measures and national strategies or action plans that could involve further capacity-building, technology development and transfer and results-based demonstration activities, and evolving into results-based actions that should be fully measured, reported and verified". The initial phase of developing national strategies, action, and capacity building is typically referred to as the "readiness phase".
Core elements
UNFCCC decisions describe a set of core elements for developing countries undertaking REDD+ activities, including a national strategy or action plan; a forest reference emission level and/or forest reference level (FREL/FRL) as a benchmark; a national forest monitoring system to support MRV; and a system for providing information on how safeguards are addressed and respected. Parties are also asked to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, as well as issues such as land tenure and forest governance, stakeholder participation, and gender considerations, in national strategies or action plans.
Eligible activities The five eligible activities of REDD+ are: (a) Reducing emissions from deforestation. (b) Reducing emissions from forest degradation. (c) Conservation of forest carbon stocks. (d) Sustainable management of forests. (e) Enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
Together, these categories cover actions that reduce emissions by avoiding loss of forest area (deforestation) or declines in forest condition (degradation), as well as actions that maintain existing forest carbon stocks through conservation and manage forests to sustain carbon stocks while providing other outputs. "Enhancement of forest carbon stocks" covers activities intended to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests over time.
Policies and measures