Forest strategies for climate mitigation in Australia and the EU

Dr Kate Dooley, Kelsey Perlman and Bonnie Mappin, 9 November 2021.
This seminar will consider the global potential for restoration of degraded lands and forests and specific forest related mitigation strategies in the EU and Australia.
Global potentials for ecosystem restoration
The potential of ecosystem restoration remains underexplored as an option that minimizes land-use change, protects and enhances biodiversity, and delivers sustainably managed and productive landscapes. This presentation considers the types of ecosystem restoration that are presented in the literature, the carbon sequestration potential of these options, and the contribution to limiting temperature rise.
EU Forest Policies
Forests have become central to the European Green Deal as they are key for enhancing biodiversity across the continent, they provide the largest source of carbon sequestration, and they are under increasing pressure due to promotion of wood products to replace energy and products. There are several initiatives under the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the EU Forest Strategy that attempt to provide a direction for action on forests including:
- targets for restoration of forests
- efforts to monitor biodiversity outside of protected areas
- the development of guidelines for afforestation and reforestation projects and
- a roadmap for planting a trillion trees.
This presentation will look at the opportunities and challenges as well as national reactions to these initiatives.
Costs and benefits of restoring Australia’s degraded terrestrial ecosystems
Since European settlement, large areas of Australia’s native vegetation have been progressively cleared for agriculture and urban settlements, with cascading negative effects to biodiversity. Restoring our most heavily degraded ecosystems with native vegetation will prevent species extinctions and help abate climate change. Our latest research sought to find out if we can elevate all of Australia’s ecosystems to have a minimum of 30% native vegetation coverage in healthy condition, while avoiding urban, industrial and primary agricultural areas. We estimate the cost associated with restoration, stewardship, and management of these areas. In addition, we outline the expected carbon abatement. We demonstrate a systematic approach to determine where cost-effective restoration actions need to occur to achieve a conservation goal.
Such a restoration project would restore habitat, ecosystem services, and sequester carbon. This study presents a bold restoration vison, transforming the way landscapes are managed, assisting Australia to become a net zero nation in the next few decades, and creating long-term jobs in regional communities. This research shows that there are restoration-based solutions for biodiversity loss that are attainable and affordable.

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I've just returned to this (from about 15 min to the conclusion at about 18 min). I can't follow because the charts don't say what the numbers refer to - are they percentages?
Also the first charts in the conclusion have the same title, "Unabated Fossil Fuel Consumption". I can guess 1.75C is warming since 1850? but what is the distinction between w CDR and w/o CDR?