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by Kartikeya Singh, SustainUS Youth Delegate
Trees, believe it or not, remain at the center of the emissions debate. What most do not realize is that aside from industrialized nations' contribution to global GHG emissions from industrial activities and transportation, deforestation from developing countries also plays a major role. In fact, approximately 20% of the global GHG emissions are a result of deforestation. It should come as no surprise then that one of the major things on the negotiation table at this year's COP is REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). It aims to provide incentives for developing countries to cut emissions by preserving forests or having better forest management practices -- all of this in an effort to bring down emissions from this source and to ensure that there are sufficient forests remaining for the uptake of carbon dioxide (aside from other crucial global ecological services).
Some disagreement surrounds REDD's purported effects. For example, REDD may offer incentives to countries like Indonesia to protect their rapidly degrading forests, but for countries like Tanzania and India, where forest protection is working well, REDD provides little further incentive. Second, industrialized nations, though in support of the REDD scheme, see it as a threat to their "hard earned" CDM projects (energy infrastructure) in developing countries. In their view, implementing REDD would flood the market with carbon credits, some which cost more (infrastructure projects) than others (preservation of forests). Let us also remember that this is an old story that has resurfaced. Regardless, action on REDD might be one of the FEW things that comes out of these discussions.
In Indonesia, approximately 70 million hectares of tropical forests remain from the 90 million that existed in the mid to late 20th century. Here the government is concerned with the commitment from developed countries on providing assistance to the countries who refrain from cutting forests. All of this brings into question the right of these countries to utilize their forest resources. In the past, such a scheme has been seen as a ploy by developing countries as yet another way for the developed countries to infringe on their rights to develop. Should nations in the global South be asked to keep their forests standing for the sole purpose of soaking up the carbon released from the global North? Perhaps at last, the face of the debate may have changed -- but only if the North commits to concrete assistance and fewer unjustifiable demands.