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REDD Monrovia April 2010. “People who live with the forests don’t want REDD.”. “We conserve forests because forests are life, not a commodity.”. “Stop selling dignity. [Stop selling] carbon credits.”. “Wherever developed countries emit gas, that’s where they have to reduce it!”.
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REDD Monrovia April 2010
“We conserve forests because forests are life, not a commodity.”
“Stop selling dignity. [Stop selling] carbon credits.” “Wherever developed countries emit gas, that’s where they have to reduce it!” “You have to act justly.” [Thai lowland villagers protesting coal-fired developments, etc.]
“Thai farmers are the people suffering the effects of global warming, not the ones causing it.”
“REDD will not benefit Indigenous Peoples, but in fact will result in more violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. It will increase the violation of our human rights, our rights to our lands, territories and resources, steal our land, cause forced evictions, prevent access and threaten indigenous agricultural practices, destroy biodiversity and cultural diversity and cause social conflicts. Under REDD, states and carbon traders will take more control over our forests.” The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, 2007
“… our demand for an immediate suspension of all REDD initiatives and carbon market schemes … human rights violations caused by the CDM and other carbon trading and offset regimes.” IIPFCC, 2008
REDD …What is it?
Where carbon is stored Atmosphere Oceans Forests, other Vegetation, Soil Active Carbon Pool Fossil Fuel Oil Gas Coal Fossil Carbon Pool
“There is so much carbon buried in the world’s coal seams [alone] that, should it find its way back to the surface, it would make the planet hostile to life as we know it.” Tim Flannery, 2005
CARBON POOLS (billion tonnes) Atmosphere 720-760 Oceans 38,400-40,000 Rock >75,000,000 Land biosphere living biomass 600-1,000 dead biomass 1,200 Fresh water 1-2 Fossil fuels >4,130 coal 3,510 oil 230 gas 140 other 250 Source: Falkowski et al., Science, 2004
The industrialized countries could do it. For example, fuel use in the UK could be cut by 87 per cent and carbon-based fuels eliminated using existing technologies. Roger Levett
Many firms and policymakers are afraid that that would be “too expensive” and want to continue business as usual.
… And US economists, traders, policymakers and environmentalists found a way to delay spending the money industrialized countries need to spend …
They said: “Maybe we can tackle global warming without worrying about reducing fossil fuel use right away …”
Find a lot of substitutes for reducing fossil fuel use … and trade them.
$$ Carbon credits
= Licenses to pollute with CO2
Demand from industrialized countries for pollution rights is growing …
… and the market is getting bigger fast (US$b) ? Projected to be the “world’s biggest commodity market” … started from close to 0 in the 1990s and may soon reach $5 trillion.
REDD … What will the effects be on communities?