Brazil’s Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) for the Amazon has received favorable assessment from the UNFCCC experts. The assessment report was released today during the COP 20 in Lima, it points out that "the data and information used by Brazil in constructing its FREL are transparent and complete, and are in overall accordance with the guidelines contained in the annex to decision 12/CP.17". The Brazilian Reference Level submission for the Amazon, made in June 2014, marked the beginning of the implementation of the Warsaw Framework for REDD + (decisions 9-15 / CP.19), one of the major outcomes of COP 19 in 2013. The Report also notes that "Brazil included in the FREL the most significant activity, the most important biome and the most significant pools in terms of emissions from forests". According to the experts, 
“the assessment process was an opportunity for a rich, open, facilitative and constructive technical exchange of information with Brazil”. The technical assessment process provided greater clarity and transparency to the submission and identified areas that deserved greater technical depth, among them the digitalization of deforestation maps for 1996 and 1997 and the inclusion of new carbon pools.

  What are Reference Levels The submission of the Reference Level is a component required by the UNFCCC for REDD + results recognition purposes. The reference level defines the reference period and the scale the REDD + activities are measured against on a historical or projected perspective. Its function is to allow assessment of the