Avoided deforestation and reduced emissions through degradation and deforestation (REDDs) are very similar. The difference is that REDDs refer to the deforestation happening in tropical areas, and avoided deforestation refers to the Boreal forests.
Boreal forests extend across two continents along the subarctic latitudes and occupy about 14.5 percent of Earth's land surface, but contain over 30% of all carbon contained in the terrestrial biome. These forests cover an area estimated 6.4 million square miles (16.6 million square kilometers) or almost twice the size of the United States.
According to UN data, deforestation currently accounts for around 20 to 25 percent of man-made emissions of carbon dioxide -- roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide produced by the United States, the world's largest polluter. Emissions from deforestation exceed those of the entire global transportation sector, including vehicles, trains, ships, and aircraft.
By avoiding deforestation the hope is to reduce climate changing carbon emissions and protect forests, biodiversity and ecosystems.
A metric ton of carbon released into the atmosphere from unsustainable logging practices is still a metric ton of carbon contributing to climate change.
Greenhouse gases share a physical property: Their effects on climate change are the same wherever they are emitted.
