***********************************************
WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Forests
and Soils Mitigating Climate Change
***********************************************
Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://www.climateark.org/ -- Climate Ark
06/27/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
The
role of forests, land use and soils in reducing the risks of
global
climate change has been systematically reviewed in a new
report
by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
It investigates
"whether
land use and forestry activities can provide the same long-
term
benefit for the global climate system as direct reductions of
greenhouse
gas emissions." Accounting for
carbon fluxes caused by
deforestation,
land clearance, plantations and regenerating forests
should
be done in a manner that delivers both climate and terrestrial
ecological
benefits. The report states that
"storing carbon is no
panacea,
but it could be an important part of the menu of options
aimed
at slowing the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels."
Storage
of carbon is not permanent and eventually there will be
"saturation"
where little additional net carbon is sequestered.
Uncertainty
regarding the permanence of carbon sinks necessitates
great
caution in using sinks as the basis to allow higher levels of
greenhouse
gas emissions, as many industrial countries lead by the
U.S.
are advocating to do. We need to better
understand and account
for the
interface between the biosphere and atmosphere. Kyoto and
other
climate control efforts that include forests need to account for
both
CO2 emissions and removals in a balanced manner. Deforestation
and
other land uses should count as carbon emissions even if fast
growing
plantations that remove carbon are planted in the cleared
area. Maintaining existing carbon sinks in ancient
forests, while
removing
carbon through restoration, regeneration and plantations in
deforested
and degraded areas, should be encouraged.
The full report
can be
found at:
http://www.pewclimate.org/projects/land_use.html
.
g.b.
*******************************
RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Forests and Soils Can Play Significant Role
In Mitigating
Climate Change
New Report Explores the Potential and
Unresolved Issues
Source: Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Company Press Release
Date: June 27, 2000
WASHINGTON,
June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Forests and soils could play a
significant
role in helping to reduce the risks of global climate
change,
but many key issues must be resolved, according to a report
being
released today by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
Under
the international agreement on climate change known as the Kyoto
Protocol,
many developed countries have set targets to reduce or
restrain
their emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide
(CO2)
from the combustion of fossil fuels. The treaty also encourages
countries
to reduce emissions by slowing deforestation or to remove
CO2
from the atmosphere by planting trees. There is also the
possibility
of removing CO2 from the atmosphere through improved
management
of agricultural soils. These measures are collectively
known
as LULUCF -- Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry -- but the
details
of how they would be handled are largely unresolved.
The Pew
Center report, entitled ``Land Use and Global Climate Change:
Forests,
Land Management and the Kyoto Protocol,'' was written by two
internationally
acknowledged experts on the issue. It explores whether
land
use and forestry activities can provide the same long-term
benefit
for the global climate system as direct reductions of
greenhouse
gas emissions. It also reviews the international
negotiations
on this issue to date, and suggests questions that must
be
answered before land management can become an effective part of the
solution
to climate change.
``Storing
carbon is no panacea, but it could be an important part of
the
menu of options aimed at slowing the build-up of atmospheric
carbon
dioxide levels,'' said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew
Center.
``However, key rules have been left undecided, allowing
countries
to push for interpretations that may weaken commitments made
under
the Protocol.''
Among
the key findings of the study:
*
LULUCF activities differ from emission reductions in several ways.
Oneis
"permanence," or whether carbon stored in the biosphere might be
lost
later, for example through a forest fire.
Another long-term
concern
is "saturation," or whether the potential for LULUCF might be
limited
by the lands available and the amount of carbon that can be
stored
per unit of land.
*
Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol language on LULUCF is
confounded
by the lack of functional definitions for common words like
"forest"
and "reforestation."
* Even
if definitions of disputed terms and accounting rules can be
agreed
upon, the impacts on various countries of including LULUCF in
emissions
calculations will depend on the nature of their forests;
whether
the LULUCF sector is currently a net emitter or remover of
atmospheric
CO2; and trends in that sector.
*
Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol allows developed countries to
receive
credits for projects undertaken in developing countries. But
the
article does not specifically mention LULUCF projects.
Negotiators
must decide whether LULUCF activities will be allowed in
such
projects, and if so, what accounting mechanisms are appropriate,
including
how to address "permanence" issues.
* The
Kyoto Protocol recognizes LULUCF selectively, sometimes awarding
credits
for increasing carbon storage, and sometimes not; sometimes
charging
losses in carbon stocks (e.g., as a result of deforestation)
against
national commitments, and sometimes not.
A climate control
effort
that includes forests needs to account for both CO2 emissions
and
removals in a balanced manner.
The
report authors are Bernhard Schlamadinger of the Institute of
Energy
Research, a division of Joanneum Research, in Graz, Austria;
and
Gregg Marland of the Environmental Sciences Division of Oak Ridge
National
Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
A
complete copy of the report is available on the Pew Center's web
site,
www.pewclimate.org.
The Pew
Center was established in May 1998 by the Pew Charitable
Trusts,
one of the nation's largest philanthropies and an influential
voice
in efforts to improve the quality of America's environment. The
Pew
Center supports businesses in developing marketplace solutions to
reduce
greenhouse gases; produces analytical reports on the science,
economics,
and policies related to climate change; conducts public
education
efforts; and promotes better understanding of market
mechanisms
globally. Eileen Claussen, former U.S. Assistant Secretary
of
State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs,
is the President of the Pew Center. The Pew Center includes
the
Business Environmental Leadership Council, which is composed of 21
major,
largely Fortune 500 corporations all working with the Pew
Center
to address issues related to climate change. The companies do
not
contribute financially to the Pew Center -- it is solely supported
by
contributions from charitable foundations.
###RELAYED
TEXT ENDS###
This
document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non-
commercial
use only. Recipients should seek
permission from the
source
for reprinting. All efforts are made to
provide accurate,
timely
pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information
rests with the reader. Check out our
Gaia's Forest
Conservation
Archives & Portal at URL= http://forests.org/
Networked
by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org