If forest and peatland destruction continues unabated, we will never be able to prevent a rise in global temperatures
Ben Caldecott, guardian.co.uk 26 Aug 08;
Forests and peatlands have a unique role to play in the battle against climate change. Living forests and peatlands can sequester carbon emissions, while dying ones release previously stored carbon. Every year the annihilation of these two habitats generates more greenhouse gas than every car, truck, train and plane on earth. This is roughly the same as the amount of CO2 that is emitted by the United States or China each year.
Politicians and policymakers too frequently ignore this critical area. Yes, it is vital that we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, by changing behaviour, improving energy efficiency, investing in renewables and bringing forward new low-carbon technologies. But, it is impossible to prevent dangerous climate change by doing this alone. If forest and peatland destruction continues unabated, we will never be able to stop climate change.
In our report published by Policy Exchange and entitled, The Root of the Matter: Carbon Sequestration in Forests and Peatlands, we argue that preventing deforestation and stopping peatland destruction are some of the cheapest and most effective ways of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. These methods of reducing emissions are dramatically cheaper than all other mitigation options currently available – as low as US$0.1 per tonne of CO2.
Fortunately, stopping their destruction can be done comparatively quickly and cheaply. Moreover, the prevention of deforestation and peatland destruction requires no technological development and little capital investment. These are important factors as we enter a prolonged economic downturn.
The economics is startling – if developed countries spent the same amount of money on preventing deforestation and the destruction of peatlands as they do on biofuel subsidies (US$15bn), this would halve the total costs of tackling climate change. In addition, the protection of these habitats yields a plethora of valuable ecosystem services, particularly in the poorest countries.
In the UK alone, biofuel subsidies cost £550 million annually. In 2005, a similar investment in preventing deforestation and peatland destruction could have offset the equivalent of up to 37% of all UK CO2 emissions. Yet current government policy places no value on protecting forests and peatlands.
In our report, we propose the introduction of market mechanisms that can ensure investment is directed into forest and peatland conservation, as well as a strategy to make this happen as quickly as possible. To be truly effective, a global response is needed, but the UK has an opportunity to lead the way. All this can be done within our current budget, by ending wasteful and damaging biofuel subsides. For the sake of our future prosperity we can and must achieve massive emission reductions. Forest and peatland conservation is one of the few methods at our disposal, where we can do this now and at low cost.
