Climate 411

Now is the time for companies to help conserve nature. By investing in jurisdictional REDD+, they can do just that

By / Bio / Published: January 16, 2024
Tropical rainforest. Leslie Von Pless / EDF

Tropical rainforest. Leslie Von Pless / EDF

By Breanna Lujan, Senior Manager, Natural Climate Solutions 

The clock is ticking to halt and reverse deforestation so that we avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The good news is that companies can provide the finance needed to keep the world’s forests standing by purchasing high-quality emissions reductions credits from large-scale tropical forest conservation programs, otherwise known as jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+).  

In a jurisdictional scale approach to REDD+, a country, state, province or Indigenous territory has the authority to issue credits for forest carbon emissions reductions and removals. Due to the large scale at which they operate, JREDD+ programs have distinct and intrinsic features that enable them to meet key tenets of environmental and social integrity. JREDD+ programs can:  

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, News, REDD+ / Comments are closed

Nature is more important than ever to realizing climate goals at COP28

By / Bio / Published: November 29, 2023
Aerial view: Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

Natural climate solutions include conserving tropical forest and ocean ecosystems. Photo: Eisenlohr, iStock

This blog was co-authored by Britta Johnston, Senior Policy Analyst for Natural Climate Solutions at EDF.

Heading into COP28, nature as a climate solution has been making headlines, and rightfully so. Sustainably conserving, restoring, and managing the world’s ecosystems is one of the most powerful tools we have to meet global climate goals.

A recent study finds that restoring global forests where they occur naturally could potentially capture 226 gigatons of carbon, and 61 percent of the carbon storage could come from protecting existing forests.

We are beginning to realize the promise of protecting forests. Another report finds that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has dropped by 22.3 percent as a result of active intervention to curb forest loss – the lowest it has been since 2018.

Moreover, advancements in policies and practices to build resilience in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems, along with strategies for mitigating catastrophic wildfire, can ensure these ecosystems remain net greenhouse gas sinks.

Oceans also have climate mitigation potential. New evidence suggests that organisms in the mesopelagic zone, a region of ocean between 200 and 1,000 meters deep containing 95 percent of ocean biomass, may trap millions of tons of carbon each year by feeding in surface waters at night and diving back down in the day.

We have better science than ever before about nature’s role as a climate solution, and signs of progress on very important fronts. That’s why nature must be at the heart of conversation and action at COP28, both inside and outside the negotiation rooms.

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, International, Paris Agreement, REDD+, United Nations / Read 1 Response

Don’t miss the forest for the trees

By / Bio / Published: January 24, 2023

Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo by Leslie Von Pless/EDF

High-quality tropical forest carbon credits are essential to combatting climate change, advancing community-led development and safeguarding biodiversity.

This post was written by Mark Moroge, Vice President, Natural Climate Solutions and Breanna Lujan, Senior Manager, Natural Climate Solutions. This is an exerpt of a post published in EDF+Business. Read the full post here.

If you’re a company, navigating the tropical forest carbon credit marketplace can be daunting, particularly in a complex media landscape.

How should you do it?

First, don’t miss the forest for the trees. We must halt and reverse tropical deforestation by 2030 to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. We need to use all the tools in our toolbox.

Private sector finance is key to tackling deforestation at the pace and scale the world needs. As a company, you should decarbonize your own operations as quickly as possible. Alongside this, purchase high-quality tropical forest carbon credits. Such credits are an essential means to stabilize our climate and safeguard biodiversity. Revenues can also improve the lives and livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable forest peoples, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who’ve long struggled for just recognition of their conservation efforts.

Second, do your due diligence – both of your tropical forest carbon credit purchases, and of the information you consume about the tropical forest carbon marketplace. Both matter, and both support the evolution of forest carbon markets towards ever increasing integrity and quality. Read the full post here.

Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, International, REDD+ / Comments are closed

Forests have grabbed a prominent spot at COP27. Here are some highlights.

By / Bio / Published: November 10, 2022

Slogan at COP27. Source: Flickr

With COP27 now in full gear, we have plenty to be excited about when it comes to forest conservation. Last year’s climate convening in Glasgow put nature at the center of the climate agenda. We celebrated the declaration signed by more than 100 countries in Glasgow to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. The funding promises of almost $20 billion toward forest conservation were equally groundbreaking.

Despite those milestones, in the year since COP26 , the deforestation crisis has actually worsened . Deforestation in the Amazon, for example, increased by 48% over 2021. Yet there is hope.

Countries and companies are realizing the importance of conserving rainforests at scale. Commitments to end deforestation, along with promises to fund and compensate forest conservation, are growing. We’re also seeing more robust standards for emissions reductions credits from natural climate solutions, including forests.

This all bodes well, and COP27 is an opportunity to keep the momentum going on ending deforestation. So, what can we expect in Sharm El-Sheikh when it comes to conserving forests? Here’s a quick overview of the first three days’ action on forests, why they’re important, and what we expect to see over the rest of the conference. Read More »

Posted in Brazil, Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, International, REDD+, United Nations / Comments are closed

What’s in store for forests at COP—and why you should be excited

By / Bio / Published: November 1, 2021

This post was coauthored by Ruben Lubowski.

Amazon Canopy.

Stakeholders from all over the world are gathering in Glasgow for the COP26, which is shaping up to be one of the most pivotal climate change convenings. While participants will discuss how to tackle climate change and build back better (and greener), they will also focus on how to mobilize support and resources to reduce tropical deforestation.

Halting tropical deforestation is indispensable for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise to 1.5C and for enhancing global climate action. Although forests are not included in the official negotiation agenda, during COP stakeholders will have the opportunity to turn discussion into commitments, action and finance to reduce emissions from deforestation. EDF will be closely tracking and contributing to these developments. Here’s what you should keep an eye on. Read More »

Posted in Forest protection, News, REDD+, United Nations / Comments are closed

Mirando hacia la cuarta reunión del Grupo de Trabajo Facilitador de la Plataforma de Comunidades Locales y Pueblos Indígenas

By / Bio / Published: December 15, 2020

Esta publicación fue corredactada por Bärbel Henneberger.

** Este es el segundo blog de nuestra serie que explora los desafíos para la participación efectiva de los Pueblos Indígenas en foros internacionales de política climática.

La tercera reunión del Grupo de Trabajo Facilitador (FWG-por sus siglas en inglés), que fue la primera reunión oficial en el año 2020 de la Plataforma de Comunidades Locales y Pueblos Indígenas (LCIPP) de la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático, tuvo lugar virtualmente entre el 5 y el 8 de octubre.

En nuestro blog anterior, presentamos un resumen de las preocupaciones planteadas por Estebancio Castro, Representante para la Región Sociocultural Indígena de la ONU: Centro y Sudamérica y el Caribe, ante la CMNUCC LCIPP, sobre las reuniones virtuales y la participación efectiva de los Pueblos Indígenas. Sus preocupaciones eran muy válidas, ya que durante la reciente reunión del FWG, la participación de los Pueblos Indígenas, especialmente de las regiones con conexión a internet inestable, fue bastante difícil. En este blog, discutiremos estas barreras clave para la participación virtual, así como también cubriremos algunos de los avances que el FWG pudo hacer, los próximos pasos y las lecciones aprendidas.

Captura de pantalla de la reunión virtual de LCIPP de octubre, con la presencia de Patricia Espinosa, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CMNUCC. Foto de Bärbel Henneberger.

Participación efectiva: virtual vs presencial

El poco tiempo para las presentaciones y los debates (4 días, 3 horas al día) dificultaba la participación en intercambios más profundos. Generalmente, algunos participantes tenían mala conectividad a internet que falló repetidamente durante la reunión. Otros participantes no pudieron participar en absoluto porque no tenían acceso a internet. Además, se necesita una conexión a internet estable para acceder a los materiales de la reunión antes del inicio de la reunión. A medida que el trabajo del FWG se vuelve más técnico, los participantes deben tener acceso a estos documentos y más tiempo para analizarlos. Debido en parte a estos problemas, el FWG acordó reprogramar las reuniones regionales de los poseedores de conocimientos indígenas hasta que COVID-19 esté bajo suficiente control para permitir las reuniones cara a cara, reconociendo que los protocolos indígenas, como las ceremonias de apertura y las bendiciones de los participantes mayores, necesitan ser respetados. Sin embargo, otras actividades continuarán virtualmente, incluso si esto significa que para algunos, la participación efectiva no está garantizada.

Está claro que, hasta ahora, la pandemia de COVID-19 ha hecho que sea muy difícil para el FWG completar las tareas definidas en el plan de trabajo de dos años de la LCIPP. Algunas actividades han tenido que posponerse hasta que las reuniones presenciales sean posibles de realizarse. Read More »

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