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Carbon Trading: Briefing note

Suffering here to help them over there

The Guaraqueçaba Climate Action Project is a nearly 7,000 ha forest carbon offset project initiative by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Brazilian NGO Sociedade de Pesquisa em Vida Selvagem e Educacao Ambiemental (SPVS). For centuries indigenous Guarani and traditional communities have used the land that is now part of the forest offset project and the surrounding protected areas for fishing, hunting and small scale extraction of palmito. Access to that land has been restricted by the forest carbon offset project and the film shows the effect this is having on local communities.

The project is presented internationally as a model forest carbon offset project in the debate about Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), but it can now be seen as another example of the suffering that can lead from poorly planned conservation projects. As one of the community members explains, “The forest can’t be sold, it’s ours. The others can use it but they need to know how to share it with us, not buy everything and expel us.”

The film was made with the support of FERN who recently released an animation “The story of REDD: A real solution to deforestation?“ which shows that the concerns raised by the community of Guaraqueçaba are widespread. The aim of this film is to allow the communities’ voices to be heard, and to encourage other communities faced with REDD projects to see the issues to watch out for.

Banking on carbon markets: Why the European Investment Bank got it wrong in the fight against climate change

This briefing provides an overview of the publicly documented involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in support of failing carbon markets. It is based on a report by the organisations Counter Balance and Campagna per la riforma della banca mondiale (CRBM). The original report is available here.

 

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Banking on carbon markets.pdf405.89 KB

Why carbon markets will not deliver for Southern governments, forests and people

Many governments believe that carbon trading will provide substantial funding to protect or sustainably manage forests in their countries via proposed schemes to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). This briefing, signed on to by 28 organisations explains why carbon markets will not deliver for Southern governments, forests and peoples.

 

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Why Congo Basin countries stand to lose out from a market based REDD

This briefing paper unravels the implications of setting a historical baseline with a correction factor for low deforestation countries. It also explains why carbon markets are unlikely to raise the anticipated funds for forest protection, due to the unsuitability of applying these policy mechanisms to forests, and why any funds raised are unlikely to reach Central Africa or other regions with low deforestation rates and weak governance. Wider institutional and policy reforms, which are crucial to tackling deforestation effectively, would be better addressed by a funding mechanism which does not involve the trading of carbon. 

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congo basin countries lose out.pdf266.55 KB

Avoiding Deforestation and Degradation: Walking the tightrope to success

A short briefing note which looks at how to ensure REDD schemes have a threefold purpose: to safeguard and enforce the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, to bring an end to great swathes of deforestation and to help address climate change.

Seeing RED; avoided deforestation and rights issues

This briefing explains why the UNFCC Conference in Bali (December 2007) needs to answer certain important questions related to forest governance and forest peoples' rights before negotiating a post-2012 climate agreement that may include forests.
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The CDM methodology approval process and the exclusion of avoided fuel switch projects

Explanatory Briefing on avoided fuel switch projects and the CDM approval process for project methodologies.
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Most recent publications

Europe cannot drill its way to a low-carbon economy, say climate justice groups

This press release warns that EU leaders' discussions about how to lower energy prices and ‘improve’ European industrial competitiveness must not be a smoke-screen for furthering fossil fuel extraction including shale gas.

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PR_May22_EnergySummit.pdf20.03 KB

NGO report busts the myths of the Emissions Trading Scheme

This press release European Parliament was launched in advance of a vote on the European Commission's proposal to backload 900 million emissions permits within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). This vote assumes the EU ETS can be reformed, but ahead of the vote, a new report shows that the problems of the EU ETS are systemic and unresolvable. Keeping this failed system in place would further delay real action to reduce emissions in Europe.

EU ETS myth busting: Why it can’t be reformed and shouldn’t be replicated

Given the urgent need to limit  global warming, it is vital that the European Union (EU) gives itself the best tools with which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since the launch of the EU's ‘cornerstone policy’ to reduce emissions — the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), emissions have risen; there is increased reliance on coal; the price of consumer energy has risen along with the profits of many industrial actors (as a direct result of the EU ETS) and millions of euros of public money have been lost in VAT fraud.

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Myths_internet.pdf1.23 MB

FERN launches new trilingual carbon trading blog

Not a day goes by without more evidence of failed carbon offsets, fraud and crime, and windfall profits for the industries who were meant to be penalised by putting a price on carbon. Even market actors are losing interest, and record numbers of carbon-trading desks are closing shop.

ETS reforms steal attention from measures that could actually work

FERN wrote this guest commentary for PointCarbon (www.pointcarbon.com) to highlight that the time has come to give up waiting for the "market" to deliver the structural changes needed to keep global warming below two degrees and start taking direct action.

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Guest commentary.pdf431.19 KB

Input to the consultation on structural options to strengthen the EU Emission Trading System

This input to the European Commission consultation on options to stregthen the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was signed onto by 21 organisations. It raised only was concern, that the consultation excludes a fundamental, seventh option: ending the ETS by 2020 and replacing it with other regulatory climate policies. This is a serious omission that leaves this consultation incomplete as an input toward a legislative proposal. After two years of decline, the prices of emission permits and carbon credits have reached historic lows.

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