United Nations Must Address Deforestation at Poland Meeting, U.S. Science Group says

United Nations Must Address Deforestation at Poland Meeting, U.S. Science Group says

Countries gathering in Poznan, Poland, next month to negotiate a follow-up treaty to the Kyoto Protocol should develop a plan to curb global warming by stopping the destruction of the world's tropical forests, say experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a leading U.S. science-based nongovernmental organization. The international community agreed to dramatically reduce deforestation as part of a larger plan to combat global warming at the December 2007 United Nations meeting in Bali, the group pointed out, and the Poland meeting should provide a good opportunity to forge an agreement.

"When it comes to finding ways to address global warming, maintaining tropical forests is a no-brainer," said Dr. Doug Boucher, director of the Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative at UCS. "We can cut a significant percentage of the world's global warming emissions by simply protecting tropical forests."

Boucher, an ecologist, will release a report in Poznan showing that preserving tropical forests is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to reduce global warming pollution. (Boucher's report, "Out of the Woods: A Realistic Role for Tropical Forests in Curbing Global Warming," will be available on December 6 at: www.ucsusa.org/REDD.)

About 20 percent of the world's annual global warming pollution comes from deforestation—roughly equivalent to the total annual emissions of either the United States or China, and more than the total yearly emissions from every car, truck, plane, ship and train on Earth. When trees are cut down, they begin emitting the carbon dioxide they have stored over their lifetimes. To preserve the forests, farmers, ranchers and others who earn a living from activities that require tree clearing must be compensated for leaving forests intact.

"The people who live in the Amazon and other tropical forests have few economic opportunities other than farming and raising cattle, both of which require cutting down the forest," said Boucher. "That's why they must be compensated for the income they sacrifice by not using the land for farming or ranching."

According to the UCS report, it would cost $5 billion a year to protect nearly 20 percent of the tropical forests threatened by deforestation. Meanwhile, $20 billion a year would protect half of the forests and $50 billion a year would protect two-thirds.

Paying to keep tropical forests standing would cost a third less than the price of carbon under the European Union's cap-and-trade program, UCS found. The EU program sets a cap on global warming pollution, which will be ratcheted down over time. Companies must reduce their emissions to comply with the cap. Those that cannot reduce their pollution must buy allowances from companies that can. Ton for ton, it most often would be cheaper to reduce emissions from deforestation than buy allowances on the market.

The UCS report recommends three potential ways to generate money for preserving tropical forests:

DIRECT CARBON MARKET APPROACH: This method would let polluters that cannot meet their cap provide funding to maintain tropical forest areas. The tons of carbon dioxide eliminated by preventing deforestation would be applied against the polluters' caps. This method would generate tens of billions of dollars per year for forest preservation and reduce the cost of compliance. The downside is that it would not achieve additional emissions reductions in the polluters' own countries.

MARKET-LINKED APPROACH: Under this financing method, countries with cap-and-trade programs would use the funding generated by the programs to compensate countries and tribes that reduce their deforestation rates. The money would come from a government's initial sale of cap-and-trade allowances. UCS estimates that countries could dedicate tens of billions of dollars a year to forest preservation using this method.

VOLUNTARY APPROACH: A third financing method would ask countries, corporations, foundations and individuals to donate money to reduce deforestation. UCS estimates that hundreds of millions of dollars per year could be raised voluntarily.

"The United States can and should lead the way by supporting a comprehensive plan that combats global warming by reducing deforestation," said Boucher. "It's one of the best and most affordable tools we have."