|
Among the many benefits that forests provide, there is growing
appreciation of their role as major repositories of carbon.
Growing trees, through the process of photosynthesis, absorb
carbon dioxide, storing or "sequestering" vast amounts
of carbon in their wood. The biomass of vegetation in forests,
and the dead organic matter stored in forest soils harbour
vast reserves of carbon that help to keep in balance the carbon
cycle on which life on Earth depends. Rising CO2 levels over
the past century are held responsible for global warming.
Forests contain some 80% of all the carbon stored in land
vegetation, and about 40% of the carbon residing in soils
worldwide. Deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gases
such as CO2 - about 20% of total emissions. The 1997-1998
fires in Indonesia alone were shown to have contributed up
to 40% of the annual emissions from anthropogenic fossil-fuel
combustion. Further deforestation will exacerbate the problems
of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations that are caused by
the burning of fossil fuels.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was created as part
of the Kyoto protocol to achieve the dual objective of lowering
global greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest overall cost
while supporting sustainable development initiatives within
developing countries. It is based on the notion that it is
much cheaper to achieve the same measure of carbon reduction
in a developing country than in an industrialised country.
The CDM allows Annex I Parties (those required to reduce emissions)
to implement projects that reduce emissions in the territory
of a non-Annex I Party (those with additional emission rights).
The certified reduction units (CERs) generated by such projects
can be used by Annex I Parties to help meet their emissions
targets while the projects also help non-Annex I Parties to
achieve sustainable development. The CDM is expected to generate
investment in developing countries, especially from the private
sector, and promote the transfer of environmentally-friendly
technologies in that direction.
In addition to energy projects, such as saving energy, developing
alternative energy sources and active removal and storage
of greenhouse gases, land use, land-use change and forestry
(LULUCF) activities were recognised as relatively cost-effective
way of combating climate change. This is accomplished either
by increasing the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
(e.g. by planting trees or managing forests), or by reducing
emissions (e.g. by curbing deforestation or introducing reduced
impact logging techniques in conventional forestry operations).
There are pitfalls, however. Over the past few years, there
has been considerable debate about the role of forests in
greenhouse gas mitigation, as there was doubt whether such
projects could meet the strict criteria for carbon offsets
as laid down in the Kyoto protocol, as outlined below:
- Additionality: emissions saved (or sequestration) should
be higher than would have occurred without the project.
- Baseline and systems boundaries: If forests are saved
from logging or deforestation, in that area carbon savings
will be realised. However, if this means that logging will
shift to other areas not previously planned to be logged,
this will mean that the benefits "leak" away -
the net result in carbon savings will be nil.
- Measurement: There are considerable difficulties and costs
in assessing how much carbon is stored in forests and how
to monitor changes therein. It is often difficult to calculate
greenhouse gas removals and emissions from LULUCF.
- Permanence: Protection of a forest may only be temporal,
and a plantation will be cut after a certain time. Special
measures must be taken that carbons savings achieved in
forestry projects are made permanent. Greenhouse gases may
be unintentionally re-released if a sink is damaged or destroyed
through a forest fire or disease, for example
- Local social and environmental impact: Such impacts include,
e.g., hydrological services and biodiversity protection,
and transfer of technology to local populations.
At the international policy level, countries negotiate solutions
to the problem of global warming in the framework of the UNFCCC
(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), better
known by its main achievement, the Kyoto protocol. The debate
on the inclusion of forestry was concluded at the Bonn and
Marrakesh Conferences of Parties (2001). The agreements introduced
a complex schedule of caps to emissions that vary per country
and land use category. Apart from reforestation and afforestation;
cropland management, forest management, grazing land management
and revegetation are included to some extent in the agreement.
Only reforestation and afforestation can be used for carbon
trading under the CDM mechanism, while the other forms of
forestry are limited to meeting national emission targets.
Only after 2010 there will be an opportunity to include forest
management in the CDM. See http://unfccc.int/issues/lulucf.html
for a summary of forestry relevant issues at UNFCCC
While the CDM is the most relevant carbon trading mechanism
for developing countries (the non Annex 1 countries in the
protocol, i.e. countries that have rights to increase emissions),
there are two other mechanisms recognised in the protocol
for trading between Annex-1 countries (those that need to
limit emissions): Joint Implementation and emission trading.
These are not tied to conditions of sustainable development.
In addition to these formal multilateral mechanisms under
the Kyoto protocol, voluntary bilateral schemes have arisen.
Voluntary carbon trading does not lead to formal reduction
of emissions in the sense of the protocol, but may contribute
to a better public image of the company that purchases such
"carbon credits". For instance, northern electricity
generating companies have entered into agreements with Costa
Rica (carbon bonds) and have supported the switch from high
impact to low impact logging in Sabah. Examples http://www.wri.org/climate/sequester.html
Carbon Balanced is a programme that is being run by the World
Land Trust, an international conservation charity, to provide
funding for high priority projects from investment for "carbon
offsets". Examples http://www.carbonbalanced.org/
|
