The Living Forests Model, developed with the International
Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, allows us to explore the
implications of various land-use scenarios. We used the model to
look at the potential impact of the large increase in bioenergy
required by ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. What the model shows us Deforestation: It should
still be possible to achieve WWF’s goal of ZNDD by 2020 while
increasing bioenergy production, assuming ambitious climate
change mitigation goals are the driving force behind bioenergy
expansion. If bioenergy producers need to avoid land-use changes
that cause increased greenhouse gas emissions, bioenergy should
not become a major cause of forest loss. Forest management: To
meet anticipated demand for wood, especially for bioenergy, the
area of forest that is managed for timber production is
projected to increase by over 300 million hectares between now
and 2050. While this is preferable to deforestation, the impacts
will largely depend on how clos