MEXICO CITY, Jan 5, 2011 (IPS) - Thanks to its experience with community forestry projects, Mexico can provide tips on how to manage forests while fomenting the development of local economies in 2011, the International Year of Forests.
Every year, some 13 million hectares of forests are lost worldwide, and deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of total emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Looking to influence how climate change money is allocated, Indonesia will nominate a candidate to serve on the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) board, the Environment Minister says.
The GCF, which implements the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will have 25 board members, and be comprised of 15 officials from developed countries and 10 officials from the developing world, including seven Asian members.
Despite not agreeing legally binding commitments to reduce emissions, the Cancun conference does give more momentum to global, regional and local efforts to address climate change. As a result, the creation of incentives, penalties and trading arrangements in various forms in different markets becomes more likely.
The outcome of the conference reinforces our view that businesses should proactively address the business opportunities and risks around climate change to maximise shareholder returns.
As we stated in a previous post California, the world’s 8th largest economy, has approved an extensive cap-and-trade carbon trading scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
There is concern that over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s forests have already gone, and more than half of what remains is found in Cross River State. The forest there is considered to be one of the richest biodiversity reserves in Africa.
Forests can emit carbon dioxide when the land is cleared, especially through burning, or when trees are left to rot. On the flip side, forests can soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Germany, GTZ: Federal Government signs agreement on forest-protection projects
In the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference (29.11. – 10.12.2010 in Cancun, Mexico), the Federal Government signed an agreement with the World Bank on the funding of forest-protection projects.
