The complex issues of carbon sink: a critical overview

The aim of the paper is to offer a systemic overview about some critical and interdependent relations among carbon offset, carbon sequestration and carbon stock. Rooting in the complexity perspective, the work discusses some relevant measurement methods and financial issues related to the Land Use - Land Use Change Forestry (LULUCF) applied under Kyoto Protocol rules. The carbon sinks could contribute to the sequestration of carbon with long-rotation periods of forest. There are uncertainties on the estimation on carbon flux due to the application of various models of estimates, because the capacity of carbon stock is determined by several technical and financial variables. The main tool for the CO2 emissions’ mitigation is carbon offset that may represent a cost-effective solution. Here we show that there is not yet a precise correlation between forest projects and Kyoto Protocol goal. The study furthermore focuses on the credits of forestry projects, that could be sold or purchased on the carbon market. Eventually, we also consider the ethical and political problems connected with the use biomass ITPs (Industrial Tree Plantations). In conclusion, the work shed light underlines the complex side of decision processes in framing and selecting models to estimate the carbon balance under Kyoto Protocol target. The opportunity of investment in forest projects depends on the cost management of the projects themselves, and the price between wood market and unit carbon.