The Convention commits the Parties to carry out national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks, and to work toward meeting their voluntary emissions reduction goals. Forests play a significant role in moderating the net flux of GHGs between land and atmosphere.
Forests act as reservoirs by storing carbon in biomass and soils.
They act as carbon sinks when their area or productivity is increased, resulting in greater uptake of atmospheric CO 2 . Conversely, they act as a source of GHGs when the burning and decay of biomass and the disturbance of soil result in emissions of CO 2 and other GHGs. Appropriate forest management decisions can result in cost-effective net reductions in GHG emissions, either by diminishing the contribution of forests to global net emissions, or by enhancing their importance as carbon sinks. The magnitude of benefits available through forest sector activities will depend upon the amount of land available, improvements in forest productivity, and technical developments that allow more efficient harvesting and use of forest products. The use of sustainably harvested biofuels produces a CO 2 benefit when the emissions from biomass combustion are offset by biomass growth, and emissions from fossil fuel combustion are avoided.