Paragraph 3 Land-use, land-use change and forestryF1
The country or regional economic integration organisation of origin of the forest biomass is a party to the 2015 Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and—
has submitted a nationally determined contribution (“NDC”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, covering emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land use which ensures that changes in carbon stock associated with forest biomass harvest are counted towards the country’s commitment to reduce or limit GHG emissions as specified in the NDC; or
has laws in place, which are applicable in the area of the harvesting, and which regulate the harvesting of forest biomass, to conserve and enhance carbon stocks and sinks, and which require that evidence is provided to show that reported land-use, land-use change and forestry-sector emissions do not exceed removals.
But if evidence is not available to demonstrate that the requirement in sub-paragraph (1) is satisfied, then the Administrator must be satisfied that management systems were in place at the forest sourcing area level to ensure that carbon stocks and sink levels in the forest are maintained or increased over the long-term.