Since the 1992 Earth Summit, there have been increased efforts on an international scale to address global climate change. Reducing the increased levels of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases," which are believed to be contributing to this climatic change, will require major effort on the part of the world's governments. This means that the environmental, economic, social, and political consequences of climate change must be understood, and that strategies to mitigate climate change must also address these issues. The workshop detailed in this book concentrated on how economic principles and analysis could contribute to the planning of forestry projects aimed at affecting terrestrial carbon balances. More than 30 international scientists came together for one week near Stockholm, Sweden and divided into working groups charged with addressing a specific issue and preparing a paper within this time frame. This book contains the majority of papers presented at this meeting, and includes both the working group papers and the individually presented papers.

Over the years, a large and growing literature on the economics of climate change has developed. Within this volume the contributors have included a wide range of journal essays that consider the impact of climate change on specific sectors; goods and services; the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation; and policy design for mitigation, including both domestic instruments and issues related to international agreements.

Nina Becker's research provides a thorough analysis of the economics of carbon sequestration from an interdisciplinary perspective on the impacts of climate change on forest resources. The analysis is based on an integrated assessment that links a climate-yield model with a profitability analysis. In specific, Nina Becker investigates tree productivity under global and regional climate change scenarios. Furthermore, she demonstrates the potential effects of increasing tree productivity on the profitability of carbon credit sales. For this purpose, she conducted a case study on teak (Tectona grandis L.f) plantations on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.Nina Becker points out the potential of and future challenges for forest plantations in mitigating climate change. The book is aimed at scholars as well as NGOs and policymakers with an interest in forests and climate change.