Cities will have difficulty reaching carbon neutrality by cutting their direct emissions alone. Financing tropical forest conservation and restoration, certified by a credible jurisdictional REDD+ program such as ART/TREES, may offer ways to compensate for remaining urban emissions. Cities are encouraged to: 

1. Compensate for urban emissions by funding tropical forest conservation. For example:
   

   1. Portland (Oregon) is reviewing a proposal for a fee on large facilities producing 2,500 metric tons or more of carbon a year and an annual surcharge on major sources of air pollution to raise money to fight climate change. It is estimated that the fees would raise $11 million USD per year to support GHG emission reduction programs.
      

   2. The City of Boulder, USA implemented a Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax in 2006, which taxes electricity use in residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Since then, the fund has raised US$ 17.3 million and has helped reduce GHG emissions through energy efficiency programs by 18% from 2005 level.
      

   3. At the provincial level, British Columbia’s Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) encourages cities in the province to pursue carbon neutrality of their internal operations through a carbon tax and grant scheme.  

   4. Ecuador’s Socio Bosque program provides another example of how payment for ecosystem services (PES) can work at a large scale. Since 2008 the program has grown to help preserve 16% of Ecuador’s forests through providing fiscal incentives to landowners to maintain their forests.