Citola Blog
Carbon Forestry Politicos - "Could Try Harder"
When it comes to carbon offsets, you can fault some politicians for effort. In fact, when you look at what happened to the Australian CPRS, it would be wrong not to call them to account for a) effort and b) outcome. Others, however, deserve a little praise for doing what they can.
So here’s some good news in the REDD (reforestation and avoided deforestation) area. While forestry management and timber outcome together make for an attractive business offering, that constitutes thinking with our heads here at Citola. Carbon regeneration is very much where our hearts lie.
Although Citola's project monetisation strategy is versatile, carbon offset generation will prove very profitable – both financially and, of course, ecologically. First off, there’s the voluntary market. There are more and more corporations pursuing the “one-off” strategy of “adopting” forests and generating Kyoto-compliant carbon credits (as the Marriott hotel chain has done).
Beyond that, there are several significant and laudable efforts to get sensible structures in place for REDD schemes. According to a recent report from the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) direct payments to forest owners in key countries such as Brazil could be very effective in preventing deforestation.
And – whisper it gently – there may even be some progress from the United Nations. A major meeting in Oslo, Norway, on Thursday could take the process of making such payments a reality. Six developed countries, including the US, Australia and Britain, have committed in principle to pay $3.5 billion by 2012 to “under-developed” countries as recompense for preserving their rain forests rather than converting them to timer or farmland.
The Oslo meeting will deal with implementation, and making sure that the money reaches the right quarters with a proper audit trail.
More immediate and more definite is a bilateral agreement between Germany (one of the developed nations in the UN scheme) and Indonesia. The Forest and Climate Change Programme (FORCLIME) sees Germany provide financial support for Indonesian efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry sector. A small step, but an example to the international community.
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