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Tradable
Greenhouse-Gas Budgets
A system
of tradable greenhouse-gas budgets is an idea that is gaining widespread support from "greens," economists,
and politicians. Under the plan, each country is given a budget to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases. A
certain portion of this budget could be bought and sold on an open market like the stock or commodity market. A
country which could not or would not meet its budget could buy some budget from countries that could easily meet
their budgets (like those with extensive forest cover).
Carbon-offset
programs may be more politically acceptable than other programs "because they provide a mechanism for motivating
wealthy countries to pay for a benefit of forest conservation that transcends national borders." In effect,
such programs promote "the transfer of funds from industrialized countries to tropical countries as a commercial
transaction rather than an act of charity" (Costa 1996).
There are
several issues still to settle with such a system. How can the budgets for countries be set fairly without inhibiting
economic growth? Is it fair that developed countries are allowed large budgets? What about developing countries
that require energy for growth, but often lack the technology to do so cleanly? Finally there is the problem of
scale. How much overall pollution will we allow? When we reach this level what's to stop us from exceeding it, especially
when jobs and national economies are on the line? There will be great pressure to compromise and increase the scale
of our activities at an unknown environmental cost. Strict penalties must be devised for those countries that
exceed their budget. Failure to enact such penalties will result in failure of the system.
Under the
Kyoto treaty on climate change, no formal limits were set for developing countries. Many environmentalists fear
that big corporations will simply circumvent the treaty by building new energy-intensive facilities in developing countries.
Also of concern are the emission limits granted to Eastern Europe. Many of these countries already have emission
levels well below 1990 levels because of their shrinking economies. Therefore Eastern Europe will be able to afford
to sell credits to western industrialized countries. In effect, the global community would be rewarding countries
for running inefficient and polluting industries in the past. This would not lead to a reduction of carbon emissions,
just a transfer of wealth.
Continued: Saving rainforests
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"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.
Recent news
Beef consumption fuels rainforest destruction (02/16/2009)
Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, according to a new report by Greenpeace. The finding confirms what Amazon researchers have long known – that Brazil's rise to become the world's largest exporter of beef has come at the expense of Earth's biggest rainforest.
How to save the Amazon rainforest (01/04/2009)
Environmentalists have long voiced concern over the vanishing Amazon rainforest, but they haven't been particularly effective at slowing forest loss. In fact, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in donor funds that have flowed into the region since 2000 and the establishment of more than 100 million hectares of protected areas since 2002, average annual deforestation rates have increased since the 1990s, peaking at 73,785 square kilometers (28,488 square miles) of forest loss between 2002 and 2004. With land prices fast appreciating, cattle ranching and industrial soy farms expanding, and billions of dollars' worth of new infrastructure projects in the works, development pressure on the Amazon is expected to accelerate. Given these trends, it is apparent that conservation efforts alone will not determine the fate of the Amazon or other rainforests. Some argue that market measures, which value forests for the ecosystem services they provide as well as reward developers for environmental performance, will be the key to saving the Amazon from large-scale destruction. In the end it may be the very markets currently driving deforestation that save forests.
Amazon rainforest damage surges 67% in 2008 (12/20/2008)
The area of rainforest in the process of being deforested — razed but not yet cleared — surged in the Brazilian Amazon during 2008, according to new figures released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The announcement comes shortly after the Brazilian government reported a 4 percent increase in forest clearing for the year. Using an advanced satellite system that tracks changes in vegetation cover INPE found that 24,932 square kilometers of Amazon forest was damaged between August 2007 and July 2008, an increase of 10,017 square kilometers -- 67 percent -- over the prior year.
Cutting deforestation can fight climate change, reduce poverty and conflict (09/24/2008)
Forest conservation can play a critical role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate poverty, said a prominent group of politicians, development experts, and environmental NGOs meeting in New York City to discuss U.S. climate policy.
Future threats to the Amazon rainforest (07/31/2008)
Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
