The UN is due to report on proposed carbon-trading schemes that would make it more rewarding for countries to preserve their forests rather than cut them down. The report on "Reduced Emissions from Deforestation" (RED) will be presented at a climate change meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in Dec. 2007.
WHY IS IT NEEDED?
-- Deforestation, especially in the tropics, contributes about 20 percent of man-made global carbon emissions, some two billion tonnes of carbon per year. Trees are 50 percent carbon and release carbon dioxide (CO2) when they rot or burn. Forests soak up vast amounts of CO2 and clearing the land erodes soils that are also carbon stores.
The World Bank is positioning itself as the lead agency on avoided deforestation. It has proposed a Forest Carbon Partnership Facility to be part of its new NGO and private sector led mega-fund, the Global Forest Alliance, scheduled to start operations in early 2008.
clipped from: www.planetark.org