Breaking: Agreement on international forest protection reached at Oslo conference
photo by timekin (source: Flickr Creative Commons)
At a UN climate conference in Oslo, Norway this week, nations agreed on an increase in aid from rich to poor countries to protect the Earth’s forests and curb global carbon emissions. UN figures state that deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for 17% global emissions. Preserving forests is widely regarded as the least expensive way to cut these emissions.
From a Reuters report:
The Oslo Climate and Forest Conference, attended by representatives of 52 countries, agreed on a non-binding framework to funnel aid promised by the rich world and set up monitoring standards to ensure money flows are based on solid results. Such frameworks are known as Redd (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) programmes.
The conference marked an increase of $500m (€403m) in aid since the UN climate conference in Copenhagen last December. Developed nations pledged a total of $4bn (€3.2bn) with Norway itself promising $1bn (€806m) in aid to Indonesia. A new agency called REDD Plus was established to encourage this type of aid.
From an AP report:
The new monitoring agency would oversee individual agreements between countries to fight deforestation and educate local populations who live off forests — estimated at more than 1 billion worldwide — to do so in a sustainable way.
In Copenhagen, rich nations agreed on a plan to give $30bn (€24bn) during 2010-12, rising to $100bn (€80bn) annually by 2020.
Criticisms of REDD have included that such methods of forest protection are not easily accounted for and that the money could even be used to enrich companies whose business it is to destroy forests. Furthermore, if an offset project fails, the forest is lost, the carbon sequestration is lost and the industrial emissions that the forest preservation was meant to offset are allowed to continue, making the project potentially more damaging to the climate than if it had never been attempted.
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
UKPA – Charles praises rainforest plan
Graham Land grew up in Washington, D.C., where he was part of the local hardcore punk scene. Through this unique musical movement he became involved in grass roots anti-racist activism, animal rights and Ecology. Since 2000 Graham has lived in Europe, earning an MA in history from Malmö University in Sweden and working as a musician, English teacher, sports therapist, customer service agent and writer. Graham has a podcast with author Saci Lloyd and is currently pretending to work on his first novel.
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Tags: agreement, carbon, climate, conference, deforestation, degradation, emissions, forest, forests, global, IndonesiaI, Norway, Oslo, plan, REDD, UN
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