From: COP15 Copenhagen
Brazil, home country of the world’s largest forest, the Amazon, is now ready to support a global scheme to conserve forests. The scheme called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is expected to be agreed at the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen this December.
“In previous meetings Brazil didn’t defend REDD – that position has evolved,” Environment Minister Carlos Minc says according to Reuters.
Under the scheme industrialized countries would be able to free themselves of some of their own reduction commitments by supporting rainforest conservation. The positive Brazilian position is however contingent of a 10 percent ceiling as to how much an industrialized country can be relieved of its own commitments.
“Rich countries still have to do their homework,” Carlos Minc states.
The minister also reveals that Brazil is looking into even deeper cuts in its own greenhouse gas emissions than previously announced. As Brazil is not included in the list of so called Annex 1 nations (all industrialized countries) under the Kyoto Protocol it has no obligation to state reduction targets.
Still, both Carlos Minc and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have announced earlier that Brazil would freeze its carbon dioxide emissions at the 2005 level by 2020, meaning 2.1 billion tons annually.
Preparing for the UN conference in Copenhagen, Brazil is considering if emissions could be reduced to 1.7 billion tons by 2020 – a 40 percent reduction compared with the 2.7 billion tons anticipated under a business-as-usual scenario.
Roughly half of the reduction would come from reducing deforestation, while the rest would come from improved farming practises, increased use of bio fuels and planting of trees.
According to Reuters’ reporting a final Brazilian decision on its position for the UN negotiations in Copenhagen can be expected at November 3rd.