Value accounting of forest carbon sinks in China.

In order to better assess the impact of climate change and evaluate the contribution of forest carbon sinks to economic development, as well as to promote the development of carbon sequestration market in China, this paper uses the method of System of National Accounts ( SNA) to study forest carbon sequestration value accounting from 2003 to 2008 in China according to the latest forest resources inventory data. The results showed that from 2003 to 2008, China's forest carbon stocks and carbon sequestration both increased, and the average annual growth was about 3.55%. Values of forest carbon stocks in 2003 and 2008 in China were 729.185 billion and 728.630 billion CNY respectively, an average annual decrease of 0.015%. The values of forest carbon sinks were 25.867 billion and 25.851 billion CNY in 2003 and 2008, an average annual decrease of 0.034%, mainly due to the decline in price of forest carbon sinks. In addition, the output value of forest carbon sinks was about 4.41% of total output value of forestry in 2003, and accounted for 1.79% in 2008. From 2003 to 2008, the eaGDP(environment adjusted GDP) growth rate of forest carbon sinks in China was 17.21%, exceeding the average growth rate of 9.5% for GDP at the same period, but in the meantime, the stock value and flow value of forest carbon sinks all declined. The study also showed that the impact of forest carbon sinks on the economy in China, particularly on the GDP ranged in 0.1% -0.2%, its economic potential is not very huge. The study suggests that in China,we should have a clear understanding on the forest carbon sink market in the future, blindly emphasizing the market role of forest carbon sinks and its economic development potential is not conducive to solve the problems of forest ecosystems, climate change, etc. , also is not good for long-term development of forestry itself.