Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 8 • Number 17 • 3rd October 2008
New UN scheme to fight climate change by avoiding deforestation
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has officially unveiled a new climate change programme aimed at moving climate change goals beyond the Kyoto Protocol. Proponents of the much talked about Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme, or ‘UN-REDD’, say the initiative will help prevent climate change by creating economic incentives to help reduce deforestation in developing countries.
The programme, launched on 24 September, allows participating tropical forested developing countries to generate carbon credits by demonstrating their capacity for tree planting and avoiding deforestation. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), felling, slash and burn agriculture and other deforestation effects accounts for close to 20 percent of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere – the second largest source after the energy sector.
If incorporated as a part of the post-2012 successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the UN initiative would eventually allow developed countries to purchase these generated credits which, in turn, would help to create revenue while simultaneously preserving forests and become an integral part of a potential future global carbon market. The fate of REDD has, in fact, become one of the hottest topics in the current round of negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 5 September 2008, http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/28685/).
Norway has donated US$35 million to the initiative to assist in initial capacity building. As a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions – due to its large natural gas industry – Norway has been looking to global initiatives that might help them offset their emissions. In addition to financing the initial phase of the UN-REDD programme, Norway also announced on 16 September a US$1 billion contribution to Brazil’s Amazon protection fund over the next seven years.
“Fighting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is a priority for Norway now and also in the years to come,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at the UN-REDD unveiling. “If we are successful in stage one, Norway will certainly continue support for the UN-REDD Programme and on an even more substantial scale.”
Countries participating in the first phase of the program include Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, Panama, Bolivia, Paraguay, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea.
Some of these countries (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania) have opted for a “quick start” approach that will require early development of national strategies, establishment of systems for monitoring, assessment, reporting and verification of forest cover and carbon stocks, and capacity building.
The UN-REDD programme will be jointly administrated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). This collaborative effort is part of a new UN initiative to increase cooperation among agencies.
“Reducing carbon emissions by providing countries and local communities with incentives for not cutting down forests is emerging as a creative and effective way to help us address the climate change challenge, protect vital ecosystems and support livelihoods,” says UNDP representative Kemal Derviş. “The UN-REDD Programme, which brings together the skills of FAO, UNDP and UNEP, with generous assistance from Norway, sets the stage for this kind of ‘win-win-win’ situation,”
With the Kyoto Protocol set to expire in 2012, the environmental community is looking towards the future. If the initial stages of the UN-REDD programme are successful, organisers plan to gradually unveil a series of pilot projects in participating countries that could be a component of Kyoto’s successor.
“This initiative will not only demonstrate how forests can have an important role as part of a post-2012 climate regime,” says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “It will also help build much needed confidence that the world community is ready to support the implementation of an inclusive, ambitious, and comprehensive climate regime once it is ratified.”
Critics of the programme point out that establishing benchmarks for ‘avoided deforestation’ and validating data could prove to be overwhelming and open to manipulation. For its part, the UN says it is looking into “rigorous verification systems,” which could include measures such as satellite monitoring.
Officials hope to have a functioning system in place in time to strike a formal agreement at the December 2009 Conference of the Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
ICTSD Reporting, “REDD Letter Day for Forests,” UNEP PRESS RELEASE, 24 September 2008; “Norway pledges $1 billion to Brazil Amazon Fund,” REUTERS, 17 September 2008; “Brazil government ‘worst logger’,” BBC NEWS, 30 September 2008.
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