ID :
147609
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 22:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/147609
The shortlink copeid
Ministers reaffirm forest conservation effort to curb climate change+
NAGOYA, Oct. 26 Kyodo -
Ministers from dozens of countries reaffirmed on Tuesday their commitment to a
partnership to create an international mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation as part of efforts to
curb climate change.
The move came at their meeting in Nagoya aimed at building momentum for U.N.
talks in Cancun, Mexico, from late November to negotiate a deal to succeed the
Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding emissions cut framework that expires in 2012.
Delegates from most of the 69 countries involved in the mechanism-creation
efforts, including Japan, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia, attended the
event, held in the central Japan city on the sidelines of the ongoing U.N.
biodiversity talks.
They reviewed projects so far implemented under the so-called REDD-plus
partnership, which was launched in May to promote efforts to create the
emissions reduction mechanism. REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
The participants also gave ''ministerial-level guidance'' on activities to be
carried out under the partnership for the next two years, said Japanese Foreign
Minister Seiji Maehara, who served as the meeting's co-chairman, at a news
conference after the meeting.
Calling the REDD-plus initiative a ''pillar'' of efforts to curb climate
change, Maehara said that steadily working on such an effort will lead to
progress in negotiations for crafting a post-Kyoto international framework.
''I am confident that today's outcome would be strong groundwork towards
further work of the REDD-plus partnership as well as a driving force towards
the upcoming (talks) in Cancun next month,'' Maehara said in his concluding
remarks at the meeting.
Projects undertaken through REDD-plus will be discussed at the climate meeting
in Mexico.
During bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting, Maehara proposed to
Juan Elvira, the Mexican environment minister, that the activities under the
partnership be reflected in the outcome of the U.N. climate talks, according to
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.
Elvira responded that it is important for developing and developed countries to
work together to produce concrete results at the meeting, the officials said.
Forest conservation is seen as a promising way to reduce greenhouse gases
because carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, in
such forms as conversion to pastureland and fires, are said to account for
roughly 10 to 20 percent of the emissions blamed for global warming.
REDD-plus is not just aimed at controlling deforestation and forest degradation
but also seeks forest conservation, sustainable forest management and the
improvement of carbon stocks in forests.
Under the mechanism considered, businesses engaging in forest conservation
projects in developing countries would be able to obtain emissions quotas.
Credits for the carbon stored in forests in developing countries could be
traded internationally so that funds can be secured for forest conservation.
Benefits likely to arise from such a mechanism include the conservation of
forest biodiversity.
The proposed mechanism, which proponents hope would be included in a new
greenhouse gas emissions reduction regime that would succeed the 1997 Kyoto
accord, offers both developing and developed nations incentives for cooperation
because it is likely to benefit both, according to a Japanese official.
But some in developing countries and conservation groups are concerned about
the efforts, including the fact that developed countries have taken the lead in
designing them, observers say.
Conservationists are also concerned that the mechanism could encourage the
conversion of natural forests into faster-growing planted trees if the
maximization of CO2 absorption is sought.
Such a conversion could threaten forest biodiversity and the livelihoods of
indigenous people, they say.
Also Tuesday, Maehara and his counterpart from Papua New Guinea, Samuel Tei
Abal, held bilateral talks, with the latter pledging to continue cooperating
with Japan on the REDD-plus partnership, according to the Foreign Ministry
officials.
Abal served as the other co-chairman of Tuesday's ministerial meeting. Papua
New Guinea is home to vast tropical forests.
==Kyodo
Ministers from dozens of countries reaffirmed on Tuesday their commitment to a
partnership to create an international mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation as part of efforts to
curb climate change.
The move came at their meeting in Nagoya aimed at building momentum for U.N.
talks in Cancun, Mexico, from late November to negotiate a deal to succeed the
Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding emissions cut framework that expires in 2012.
Delegates from most of the 69 countries involved in the mechanism-creation
efforts, including Japan, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia, attended the
event, held in the central Japan city on the sidelines of the ongoing U.N.
biodiversity talks.
They reviewed projects so far implemented under the so-called REDD-plus
partnership, which was launched in May to promote efforts to create the
emissions reduction mechanism. REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
The participants also gave ''ministerial-level guidance'' on activities to be
carried out under the partnership for the next two years, said Japanese Foreign
Minister Seiji Maehara, who served as the meeting's co-chairman, at a news
conference after the meeting.
Calling the REDD-plus initiative a ''pillar'' of efforts to curb climate
change, Maehara said that steadily working on such an effort will lead to
progress in negotiations for crafting a post-Kyoto international framework.
''I am confident that today's outcome would be strong groundwork towards
further work of the REDD-plus partnership as well as a driving force towards
the upcoming (talks) in Cancun next month,'' Maehara said in his concluding
remarks at the meeting.
Projects undertaken through REDD-plus will be discussed at the climate meeting
in Mexico.
During bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting, Maehara proposed to
Juan Elvira, the Mexican environment minister, that the activities under the
partnership be reflected in the outcome of the U.N. climate talks, according to
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.
Elvira responded that it is important for developing and developed countries to
work together to produce concrete results at the meeting, the officials said.
Forest conservation is seen as a promising way to reduce greenhouse gases
because carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, in
such forms as conversion to pastureland and fires, are said to account for
roughly 10 to 20 percent of the emissions blamed for global warming.
REDD-plus is not just aimed at controlling deforestation and forest degradation
but also seeks forest conservation, sustainable forest management and the
improvement of carbon stocks in forests.
Under the mechanism considered, businesses engaging in forest conservation
projects in developing countries would be able to obtain emissions quotas.
Credits for the carbon stored in forests in developing countries could be
traded internationally so that funds can be secured for forest conservation.
Benefits likely to arise from such a mechanism include the conservation of
forest biodiversity.
The proposed mechanism, which proponents hope would be included in a new
greenhouse gas emissions reduction regime that would succeed the 1997 Kyoto
accord, offers both developing and developed nations incentives for cooperation
because it is likely to benefit both, according to a Japanese official.
But some in developing countries and conservation groups are concerned about
the efforts, including the fact that developed countries have taken the lead in
designing them, observers say.
Conservationists are also concerned that the mechanism could encourage the
conversion of natural forests into faster-growing planted trees if the
maximization of CO2 absorption is sought.
Such a conversion could threaten forest biodiversity and the livelihoods of
indigenous people, they say.
Also Tuesday, Maehara and his counterpart from Papua New Guinea, Samuel Tei
Abal, held bilateral talks, with the latter pledging to continue cooperating
with Japan on the REDD-plus partnership, according to the Foreign Ministry
officials.
Abal served as the other co-chairman of Tuesday's ministerial meeting. Papua
New Guinea is home to vast tropical forests.
==Kyodo
