© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
November 9, 2000

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 9, 2000 (ENS) - Two reports released yesterday warn against relying on carbon "sinks" to ward off climate change.

Relying on forest plantations to store carbon pollution from the atmosphere and combat climate change could accelerate the destruction of old growth native forest around the world, according to a report commissioned by Greenpeace and Worldwide Fund for Nature.

In a separate report, the United Kingdom's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research says that climate change will accelerate because carbon dioxide will be released from soils and decaying forests as the climate warms.

It warns further against relying on sinks - forests that are planted as a means of combatting climate change by soaking up greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - because they also absorb more sunlight which would contribute to global warming.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the leading greenhouse gas, so called because it accumulates in the atmosphere, traps solar energy and leads to global warming

Both reports challenge the assumption that carbon storage in trees will yield environmental benefits. "The economics of the developing carbon sequestration market is becoming an additional driver for clearing native forests," concludes the Greenpeace/WWF report "The Clearcut Case: How the Kyoto Protocol Could Become a Driver for Deforestation."

Certain countries are known to be pushing for forests to be used as carbon stores rather than reducing emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The issue is expected to be one of the most controversial topics at talks to accelerate emissions cuts under the Kyoto Protocol in The Hague, Netherlands next week.

The Kyoto Protocol is an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change governing the emissions of six greenhouse gases from 39 industrialized countries. These countries have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012.

But the treaty must be ratified for these commitments to take effect. The Sixth Conference of the Parties to the convention in The Hague, from November 13 to 24, is seen by many as the last chance for this to happen.

The United States, Japan, Australia and Canada are promoting the idea of forest carbon storage as part of their strategies to lower emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Greenpeace and other environmental groups claim the policy waters down commitments made in Kyoto in 1997.

Canada, Australia and the U.S. are all struggling to cut emissions. Canada has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by six percent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012, but saw emissions actually rise by 13 percent between 1990 and 1998. The U.S. saw its emissions rise 11.5 percent for the same period and Australia 16 percent.

The Greenpeace/WWF report examines several Australian projects as case studies of what could emerge as "a dangerous new international threat to forests and the species they support."

The report implicates Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Japan's largest power utility, in the destruction of native forest in the Tamar Valley in the Australian state of Tasmania. The forest was replaced by fast growing eucalyptus plantations intended for carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol, says the report.

TEPCO's investment of A$10 million (US$5 million) in Tamar Tree Farms accounts for 3,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantation which are expected to yield TEPCO 130,000 tonnes of carbon credits that could be offset against rising carbon emissions in Japan, the report continues.

The report claims the project is not an isolated incident, but compatible with the forest clearance program of Australian and Tasmanian authorities.

"Claiming credit for carbon stored in trees is a blatant attempt by some countries to cheat on their Kyoto commitments," said Bill Hare, Greenpeace's climate policy director. "This report shows that it is also bad for the environment, leading in some cases to the destruction of old growth forest to make way for 'carbon sink' plantations."

"The only way to combat climate change is through deep cuts in emissions of global warming gases," said Jennifer Morgan, director of WWF's Climate Change Campaign. "The Tasmania project is an example of what could go terribly wrong for forests around the world if Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States get their way.

"We could see native forest destruction accelerate but still see no benefit for the global climate. This is potentially the largest of a number of loopholes in the Kyoto climate treaty that governments urgently need to close."

Greenpeace and WWF are calling on the 184 parties to the Climate Convention to exclude carbon sinks from the Kyoto Protocol, and from its Clean Development Mechanism. The Clean Development Mechanism would allow industrialized countries to claim credit for emissions reduction projects in developing countries.

In a research paper published in this week's edition of Nature, Hadley Centre scientists argue that simply planting forests may be less effective in slowing global warming than previously expected.

These are the conclusions of scientists studying the effects of vegetation, soils and oceans on climate change.

Working with Southampton Oceanography Centre, the researchers describe the world's first computer model of climate which includes the effect of climate induced changes in vegetation and the carbon cycle.

Using this model, the team led by Dr. Peter Cox predicts that global warming is likely to cause the world's soils to emit more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, leading to further warming of the climate.

They found that climate change could threaten the viability of the Amazonian rain forest, which would also release carbon dioxide and contribute to faster global warming. The model predicts a rise in average global land temperatures of 6°C (or 11°F) from 2000 to 2100, which is 2.0°C (or 4°F) higher than predictions made before these effects were included.

"Our initial results suggest that vegetation and soils, which currently absorb about a quarter of human made carbon dioxide emissions, could accelerate future climate change by releasing carbon to the atmosphere as the planet warms," said Dr. Cox. "This potentially large climate feedback needs to be investigated further."

A second research paper shows that planting new forests will not slow global warming as much as expected. The Kyoto Protocol allows countries to plant forests in order to offset some of their CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. But forests are generally darker than the underlying terrain, and hence absorb more of the sun's heat.

"This is particularly true in snowy conditions when grass and soil are covered by snow but trees remain exposed," said the paper. The extra absorption of sunlight causes the world's northern forests to have a warming effect, which would offset part of the cooling effect of CO2 uptake.

In some areas of Canada and Siberia, the paper suggests this warming effect is actually greater than the relative cooling afforded by CO2 uptake. Planting forests in these areas would therefore increase warming rather than decrease it as intended.

"Natural forests are key for maintaining biodiversity and rainfall patterns, but in colder regions, growing new forests may not be as useful as expected for reducing climate warming," said the author Dr. Richard Betts. "In some areas it could even be counterproductive."

Reacting to the Hadley Centre's reports, UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher said real emissions reductions are the way to meet Kyoto targets. On sinks, he added, "We must be cautious about them."

"The storms and floods being experienced across the UK are a wakeup call to the serious environmental threat posed by climate change, and increasingly expert research is bringing the message home even more." Error: Unable to read footer file.