As the latest United Nations climate change talks reach their final stages, CARE International, Greenpeace and WWF are calling on the world’s governments to show leadership and unite on efforts to halt forest loss by 2020.
The details of a global mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) were under negotiation at the climate talks this week.
Yet, REDD+ alone will not save the world’s tropical forests and stop runaway climate change unless further urgent action is taken to reduce emissions in all countries, said CARE, Greenpeace and WWF. The organisations are calling on governments to commit to ambitious goals that set the scale and urgency for halting forest destruction. In addition, demand for biofuels, animal feed and beef should not lead to more forests being converted to agricultural land, said the groups.
“We are spending precious time designing a complex system of rules for REDD+. These are necessary to protect the rights and livelihoods of the millions of poor women and men who depend on forests,” commented Raja Jarrah, CARE’s Senior Advisor on REDD+. “But this is only part of the story. With no ambitious commitment to cut global emissions, it is like treating a patient’s lung disease without asking him to stop smoking.”
While considerable progress has been made on working out the details of REDD+ in these UN climate talks, negotiators must not shy away from making the big commitments that will ensure REDD+ is successful in halting forest loss, tackling climate change and protecting the livelihoods of the poor, the groups said. This will also put the world on the path to a future built on low carbon economies.
“In Bonn, developed countries including the United States have been calling on developing countries to monitor, report, and verify (MRV) their emissions. But what we actually need is for all countries to be transparent about how their policies, including for public and private finance, are supporting the drivers of deforestation,” said Roman Czebiniak, Senior Policy Advisor for Greenpeace.
Industrialized countries also have a critical role to play in providing adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for REDD+, said the organizations. The needed finance to support REDD+ actions should be addressed at the UN climate change talks in Durban South Africa at the end of this year.
“The world must step-up with the money needed to support forest countries’ efforts to end forest loss,” said Gerald Steindlegger, WWF’s Policy Director on Forests and Climate. “Investing in maintaining our forests is essential to people and nature.”
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR REDD+
REDD+ offers a unique opportunity to address both the dire consequences of climate change and the underlying causes of ongoing forest loss and forest degradation while benefitting the climate’s planet, biodiversity, and people. As countries come together to establish this global partnership on REDD+, they must adopt guiding principles that set a global benchmark for success in tackling the problem of deforestation and forest degradation at the scale and pace needed to prevent catastrophic climate change, to avoid further decline in biodiversity, to promote human wellbeing and to support low carbon development.
CLIMATE
REDD+ demonstrably contributes to greenhouse gas emission reductions with national goals working toward a global objective
BIODIVERSITY
REDD+ maintains and/or enhances forest biodiversity and ecosystem services
LIVELIHOODS
REDD+ contributes to sustainable and equitable development by strengthening the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities
RIGHTS
REDD+ recognizes and respects the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities
FAIR & EFFECTIVE FUNDING
REDD+ mobilizes immediate, adequate and predictable resources for action in priority forest areas in an equitable, transparent, participatory and coordinated manner
NOTE: The REDD+ Principles above are supported by CARE, Greenpeace and WWF. For more information, please visit www.panda.org/forestclimate
For further information and to set up interviews, please contact:
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About CARE
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve education, health and economic opportunity.
About Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. It comprises 28 independent national/regional offices in over 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, as well as a co-ordinating body, Greenpeace International.
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
