Forests and carbon tradingBad deal for forests, forest peoples and the

climate

Jutta Kill

FERN Climate Campaign

The campaigning NGO for greater environmental and social justice, with a focus on forests and forest peoples rights in the policies and practices of the EU

Climate Camp for Action prep workshop March 2009

1 – Theory behind selling carbon offset credits from tree planting or forest projects

2 – Realities of forest carbon offset projects

The campaigning NGO for greater environmental and social justice, with a focus on forests and forest peoples rights in the policies and practices of the EU

Tackling a common misconception about carbon offsets:

……no carbon offset deal reduces

emissions!

Even in the best case (which hardly ever happens), the net benefit

to the climate of even the best carbon offset project is . . . 0

Active Carbon Cycle:

Carbon is always moving between the forests, atmosphere and oceans.

The overall amount in all three carbon stores together does not increase

Many reasons why carbon stored in trees is released…

What makes forest carbon different from other offsets?

carbon storage in trees is temporary but the carbon release from fossil fuel burning is permanent!

Trees are not a safe way to store fossil carbon out of harm’s way!

Trees are not a safe way to store fossil carbon out of harm’s way!

Trees are not a safe way to store fossil carbon out of harm’s way!

Trees are not a safe way to store fossil carbon out of harm’s way!

In many areas where tree planting or forest offset projects are established, conflicts over land rights, title and access are a reality

Tupinikim and Guarani demarcate their traditional territory which has been occupied for decades by Aracruz Cellulose’s eucalyptus plantations.

Active Carbon Cycle:

Carbon is always moving between the forests, atmosphere and oceans.

The overall amount in all three carbon stores together does not increase

What makes forest carbon offsets different from other offsets?

Deforestation and forest loss have upset the balance within the active carbon pool by releasing large amounts of carbon from the forests into the atmosphere

What makes forest carbon offsets different from other offsets?

Fossil Carbon Pool:Fossil carbon is locked away in the geological reservoir and does naturally not come in contact with the atmosphere. It is stored permanently UNLESS humans mine coal, extract oil & gas.

Once released, fossil carbon will not move back into the geological

reservoir for millennia

Fallacy of the Kyoto Protocol and carbon ‘offset’ schemes:

What are the consequences of this false assumption?

1 tonne of active carbon = 1 tonne of fossil carbon

Planting or protecting more trees justifies burning more fossil fuel

Which in turn exacerbates speed of climate change and its impacts on forests

=

• Forest offsets are used to justify ….

more oil extraction more coal mining more fossil fuel burning

• The positive image of ‘planting a tree’ or ‘saving the forest’ are used while the problems of forest protection when sold as a carbon offset are withheld => misleading

More Climate Change

"To offset air-travel-related emissions of tourism on a global scale for the year

2000 alone (about 172.8 Mt C-equiv.), it would be necessary to afforest an area of

about 28,800 km2."

Land area Vermont: 24,000 km² “What we see looking forward is large investments in the oil sector”

IFC Director of oil, mining and gas, Rashad Kaldany in 2000

…‘carbon

neutral’

conference…

…‘carbon

neutral’

motorsports...

CDM Project in Brasil – CDM registration despite company’s private security guards murdering local peasant:

‘UTE Barreiro S.A. Renewable Electricity Generation Project’ in Minas Gerais, Brasil. CDM Project 0143 by Vallourec & Mannesmann do Brasil

“[T]he FSC certificate has been terminated following the killing of a local farmer by armed guards working for V&M and continued harassment of local residents ever since the incident [in February 2007].

The FSC certificate is the only reference cited in both PDD and validation report to substantiate the claim that the plantations are managed sustainably and that thus the project can claim to produce ‘renewable’ energy.” FERN letter 13. June 2007 to CDM Executive Board

IFC originally brokered the project but severed ties when controversies did not stop

In 1993 the Ugandan government declared Mount Elgon a national park and forcibly evicted indigenous

peoples. In 2002, rangers evicted another 300 families. The Benet people won a court case

confirming their ‘claim’ to the land inside the park.

The FACE Foundation’s Mt Elgon offset project in Uganda

“We just have to admit that we know nothing about the trade in CO2 trade, neither how it will function nor how much the foreign investor will profit from it.” Uganda forest department official in 2000

The FACE Foundation’s Mt Elgon offset project in Uganda

Villagers amid corn planted on what the government says is national park, but which they

claim has belonged to them for generations and for which many of them hold title documents.

To plant the corn, the villagers chopped down 500.000 trees planted by the Dutch FACE

Foundation as part of a carbon offset project.

Ezera Wandeka, 72, was one of the richest farmers in one village on the

border of Mt Elgon National Park until his fields were declared to be illegally inside the park, and he was evicted.

Wandeka kept the title to his land after rangers set fire to his home and evicted

him and other farmers.

The campaigning NGO for greater environmental and social justice, with a focus on forests and forest peoples rights in the policies and practices of the EU

What is crucial now …

… the importance to learn from past policy failures before embarking on yet

another initiative doomed to fail…Wrong financing

= more Climate Change

Chicago Climate ExchangeMembership in the Forest Products Sector:

Abitibi-Consolidated Aracruz Celulose S.A.Arcelor Mittal Florestas LtdaCenibra Nipo Brasiliera S.A.International PaperKlabin S.A.Masisa S.A.MeadWestvaco Corp.Neenah Paper IncorporatedStora Enso North AmericaSuzano Papel E Celulose SATembec Industries Inc.Temple-Inland Inc

… the importance to learn from past policy failures before embarking on yet

another initiative doomed to fail…

No consideration of gender dimension =

more Climate Change

http://forestguild.org/newsletter_0708.html

PEDRO MOURA COSTA, co-founder of EcoSecurities, 44, made 4.8 million GBP (US$10 million) when he sold some shares in the firm which helps convert emission cuts into tradable carbon credits. His remaining shares are worth about 37 million pounds (US$73 million).

The importance to ensure policy coherence…

Deforestation biodieselPeat drainage: CO2 release 2-8x higher than direct fossil fuel burning

1C Fosseway Business Centre • Stratford Road Moreton-in-Marsh • GL56 9NQ • UK

t +44 (0)1608 651 864e jutta@fern.org

www.sinkswatch.orgwww.fern.org

The campaigning NGO for greater environmental and social justice, with a focus on forests and forest peoples rights in the policies and practices of the EU