Forest carbon trading exposed

Poznan, Poland – On 1-12 December 2008, the Polish city of Poznań will host crucial United Nations climate talks amidst fears that dangerous forest carbon trading proposals will undermine the stated objectives of the negotiations, according to a new report issued today by Friends of the Earth International.

The environmental federation has been campaigning to protect forests and forest-dependent people for three decades. Its new report, ‘REDD Myths’, is a comprehensive critique of a new mechanism – known as REDD – to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries.

REDD is being negotiated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and scheduled to become a part of the post-2012 agreement that nations pledged to reach in Copenhagen in 2009.
Read the report in English here – other languages available below

Friends of the Earth International Climate and Energy Coordinator Joseph Zacune said:

“During the climate talks, we will be demanding that forests are kept out of carbon markets, that plantations are entirely excluded and land rights are enforced as the basis of any forest policy.

“If governments are serious about tackling climate change, deforestation must be stopped once and for all. To do this we need to tackle the consumption of agrofuels, meat and timber products which is driving deforestation and support good governance of forest resources.”

Deforestation and forest degradation are significant causes of climate change, accounting for as much as twenty percent of greenhouse gas emissions every year. Accelerating deforestation also threatens the world’s biodiversity, imperils the 60 million Indigenous People who are entirely dependent upon forests and disadvantages some 1.6 billion people who are heavily reliant on forests.

Friends of the Earth US climate campaigner Kate Horner said:

“It is alarming that such dangerous forest carbon trading proposals are getting traction at the UN talks while so many critical questions are left unanswered. We fear that this could be disastrous for biodiversity, the rights of forest-dependent communities around the world and even our climate. If forest carbon trading proposals are accepted, it would create the climate regime’s largest loophole by allowing rich countries to buy their way out of emission reductions.”

READ THE FULL REPORT
in English

FURTHER INFORMATION
Joseph Zacune, Friends of the Earth International Climate Coordinator,
Tel: +44 79 67 87 75 93 (UK mobile number)

Kate Horner, Friends of the Earth US Climate Campaigner
Tel: +1 36 03 19 94 44 (US mobile number)

Stephanie Long, Friends of the Earth International Climate Coordinator:
Tel: +48 698 327 785 (Polish mobile number valid until Dec. 13 only)

Friends of the Earth International media line :
Tel: +31 6 5100 5630 (Dutch mobile number)