Carbon and Land Use Model (CALM)
The Carbon and Land Use Model (CALM) links an econometric discrete choice model of land use conversions with a carbon storage model that predicts carbon dynamics due to land use change.
About the Model
The land sector, including agriculture, forestry, and other land uses, is critical storer of carbon and provides important opportunities for cost-effective mitigation of carbon emissions; globally, the land sector could contribute to as much as twenty percent of carbon emissions reductions necessary to meet international emissions reduction commitments. However, the cost-effectiveness of land sector climate mitigation policies (e.g. carbon payments or subsidies for tree planting) depends on how landowners respond to changes in the relative returns to various land uses, and the consequences for carbon emissions over time.
The Carbon and Land Use Model (CALM) links an econometric discrete choice model of land use conversions with a carbon storage model that predicts carbon dynamics due to land use change. The discrete choice model predicts county-level land use conversion rates based on county-level returns across six broad land use categories, and enables simulation of how land use might change in the future under varying policy scenarios. The carbon model accounts for carbon flux due to all major carbon-relevant changes, including land use changes, timber harvesting, vegetation growth, wildfire, and other disturbances. Combined, CALM allows RFF researchers to estimate the costs of carbon sequestration through incentive-based policies targeted at the land sector.
Model Resources
Topics
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In Focus — Oct 19, 2023
In Focus: Carbon Dioxide Removal from US Forests
This video shares insights about the capability of US forests to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how new technologies can help achieve US goals for carbon dioxide removal, with RFF Nonresident Senior Fellow David N. Wear.
Press Release — Oct 19, 2023
Old Forests Store More Carbon than Young Ones—and That Matters for US Climate Goals
A new paper shows that because mature forests store substantially more carbon than young forests, avoiding losses of existing forests provides more carbon storage benefits than adding new forests.
Working Paper — Oct 19, 2023
Land-Use Change, No-Net-Loss Policies, and Effects on Carbon Dioxide Removals
In this working paper, RFF researchers employ the CALM model to evaluate how alternative land-use changes affect projections for land-based carbon dioxide removal in the United States.
Press Release — Jun 21, 2023
Forests Will Sequester Less Carbon in the Coming Decades
Forests Will Sequester Less Carbon in the Coming Decades
Press Release — Oct 19, 2023
Old Forests Store More Carbon than Young Ones—and That Matters for US Climate Goals
A new paper shows that because mature forests store substantially more carbon than young forests, avoiding losses of existing forests provides more carbon storage benefits than adding new forests.
Press Release — Jun 21, 2023
Forests Will Sequester Less Carbon in the Coming Decades
Forests Will Sequester Less Carbon in the Coming Decades