High-level group’s report recommends American-led effort to halve emissions from deforestation by 2020 as cost-effective climate solution
The bipartisan, multi-sector Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests released in its report has called on the US to lead a global effort to halve emissions from tropical forest destruction within a decade. The report identifies tropical deforestation as a threat to vital national interests and recommends that US policymakers and the international community move rapidly to scale-up a global effort to protect tropical forests as the most cost-effective way to achieve fast, large-scale reductions in CO2 emissions.
Reminding readers that tropical deforestation is responsible for 17 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector, the report underscores the need to incorporate international action on deforestation into both US and global climate solutions. The report, Protecting the Climate Forests: Why reducing tropical deforestation is in America's vital national interest, presents a blueprint for US leadership on arresting tropical deforestation in advance of the December UN climate talks in Copenhagen and further debate on climate legislation in the Senate.
The report notes that a well-designed cap-and-trade programme would provide an effective mechanism for financing and implementing the Commission’s recommendations. Four of the Commission’s thirteen recommendations deal directly with how to reduce emissions from tropical forests through a cap-and-trade system. The report notes that while prospects for Senate approval of a national, economy-wide cap-and-trade bill are uncertain, US leadership in stemming deforestation must not be.
Reflecting the broad appeal of this approach, the Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests includes Democrats and Republicans; former elected and Cabinet officials; former high-level US diplomats and military leaders; scientists and climate experts; business leaders in manufacturing and energy production; and environmental and development experts and advocates.
Former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel noted, “Tropical deforestation is a major element of the climate threat and requires our immediate attention, as any other global crisis would. It is clearly in our national interest – economic, foreign policy, national security and beyond – to confront this threat. As the world’s largest economy and most powerful nation, we must work closely with our allies in both the developed and developing worlds to cut emissions from tropical deforestation in half within a decade. We have helped the world face potentially catastrophic threats before. We must heed the call to do so again. Saving forests is a climate strategy that makes sense regardless of one’s political views.”
A cost-effective commitment
The Commission’s report lays out thirteen recommendations for addressing tropical deforestation through US policy. Chief among them is an investment of USD1 billion in public funding by 2012; by 2020 the Commission recommends mobilising USD9 billion annually in private-sector forest conservation investments and increasing the annual public contribution to USD5 billion. Although the sums are substantial, these investments would actually help save US consumers and companies USD50 billion by 2020 compared to the cost of pursuing comparable domestic climate strategies alone.
“We must find solutions to address global warming in an economically viable way,” emphasised Michael G. Morris, Chairman, President, and CEO of American Electric Power, the largest electric utility in the US. “Preventing deforestation and degradation in tropical regions is an important part of the answer – it is one of the most effective and inexpensive tool for addressing climate change, and provides an excellent way to mitigate the costs of other climate solutions.”
Sam Allen, President and CEO of Deere & Company agreed and offered a unique perspective on the importance of tropical forests. “A robust global economy is critical to expanding the agricultural output necessary to meet the increasing needs of a growing and increasingly affluent population,” said Allen.
“Rational, market-based protections that control the cost of carbon reductions offer the best approach to enabling farmers around the world to meet the food production challenge in a sustainable manner. Halting that destruction makes business sense as a cost-containment measure and as a long-term investment in healthy cropland and forest economies.”
“A low-carbon economy holds tremendous potential for American job creation – but we have to get there first,” said former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. “A smart climate policy would address the near-term costs of transitioning to clean energy, and protecting tropical forests as part of that policy provides a solution. Not only can we reduce a major source of CO2 – we can also lay a solid foundation for a new economy built on energy efficiency, advanced renewable power, smart grids and beyond. ”
Among other recommendations, the report endorses US companies investing in forest protection through strong and verifiable “offset” programmes. The report recommends a detailed policy framework to ensure transparency and achieve the greatest return on investment from forest financing projects.
“Reducing deforestation and creating new forests are the quickest and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But it must be done the right way. Proper monitoring, reporting and verification are essential to the success of any programme we create. We have a choice – to act now and launch an effective global system, or to watch our broader efforts on climate fail. I think the choice is clear,” added Commissioner D. James Baker of the Clinton Global Initiative and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The solution to multiple problems
According to the report, slowing climate change would be one of many benefits from dramatically reducing tropical deforestation. A global effort to conserve tropical forests would strengthen US national security by reducing international instability, help alleviate global poverty and conserve the priceless biodiversity found in the planet’s most productive ecosystems.
Former US Army Chief of Staff and chair of the Military Advisory Board Gen. Gordon Sullivan noted the importance of tropical forests to maintaining stability and security in key regions around the globe. “We know unequivocally that climate change, left unaddressed, will become a threat multiplier in dangerously unstable regions of the world – and tropical deforestation is a threat multiplier for climate change. Deforestation not only accelerates that change, but it causes soil degradation, loss of fresh water and reduced access to natural resources – all of which displace populations and intensify security issues.
Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security, added, “Our national security leaders have wisely recognised the threat posed by climate change, and the unavoidable next step is to address its causes – of which tropical deforestation is a major one. Many forest-abundant nations are central to US interests, and are located in regions where fragile states, extremists and political unrest are already a serious concern. Swiftly and effectively stopping deforestation and slowing climate change must therefore be a national security priority.”
“Tropical forests serve as the lungs of the Earth: they manage the world’s carbon dioxide levels, are home to the world’s most diverse species and provide essential services – such as food, water and shelter – to millions of people across the globe,” underlined The Nature Conservancy’s President and CEO Mark Tercek. “The good news is preserving these forests requires no new technologies – just a truly collaborative effort that provides incentives to protect forests long-term. Successful on-the-ground projects prove we can achieve carbon emission reductions while working with local stakeholders to incentivize forest preservation.”
“Seeing firsthand the devastating effects of tropical deforestation is humbling. Many local communities, through conservation partnerships, are conserving tropical forests, but only US policy leadership can galvanize global action with the speed, scope, and scale necessary to prevent catastrophic forest losses,” said Commissioner and former Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett.
“The destruction of tropical forests is at the crossroads of our two greatest environmental challenges: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the biological integrity of our planet,” noted Cristián Samper, Director of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, “international and domestic climate policy cannot ignore this necessity and still succeed.”
The report uses Brazil as a case study to stress both the problem posed by tropical deforestation and a model for moving forward. Emissions from deforestation alone in Brazil account for 2.5-5.0 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, helping to make the country the fourth largest emitter in the world. Brazil represents a major opportunity, however, for a test ground for the Commission’s recommendations. Unlike many tropical forest countries, Brazil is already well positioned to monitor and verify emissions reductions and has set an ambitious national target of reducing deforestation in the Amazon by 80 per cent by 2020.
