major new US proposal for tropical forests in Cap'n'trade

For the policy wonks following, US CAP released a new study that will undoubtedly have some street cred as the new administration and congress grapple with how to include REDD in federal climate change policy. Check it out and send us your thoughts. Check out pages 8 -11 in particular for REDD stuff...

Lula Obama biofuel love, no REDD love

This just in (OK, a few days ago but we were skiing).

Brazil's Lula, Obama To Work On Trade, Biofuels

Date: 28-Jan-09
Country: BRAZIL
Author: Fernando Exman

Lula and Obama 1st talk. No mention of REDD or deforestation.

BRASILIA - President Barack Obama wants to work with Brazil on biofuels and pledged to advance global trade talks as a way to stoke economic growth, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's spokesman said on Monday.

Lula and Obama spoke by phone for about 25 minutes and agreed to meet in March in Washington, Lula spokesman Marcelo Baumbach said.

Obama may visit Brazil in the Northern Hemisphere's summertime, between July and September, though no date has been set.

In his national radio address last week, Lula urged Obama to make the Doha round of global trade talks a priority.

"President Obama said he is interested in continuing discussions to advance the Doha round, given the importance of global trade to confront the current international economic crisis," Baumbach said.

Obama said the United States has much to gain by cooperating with Brazil on biofuels, according to Baumbach. The new U.S. president has made the increased use of alternative energy sources, including biofuels, a key goal of his administration.

Brazil is among the world's biggest users of alternative fuels, with nearly 90 percent of all new automobiles in the country so-called flex-fuel cars that can run on ethanol made from sugarcane.

Someday we'll look back and laugh, right?

This article is pretty funny. My favorite part is:

No administration is entirely free of corruption, and generally the public won't get too exercised about it if it's done in moderation. To pick an example out of a hat, it would be nice if federal regulators didn't offer favors to oil companies in exchange for cocaine and sex. Too much to ask? Apparently so, at least for the Interior Department's Minerals and Management Service...

Obama speech 1st in history to mention "a warming planet"

I took my two boys to see the inauguration along with Cara Peace, here in San Diego. We were running late and had to dart into a closed restaurant to find TVs. Maxwell, the eldest (3 1/2) was infatuated with the bar stool concept and his race car. (Another race car was taken away the night before by parents after it was thrown at us). Finnegan (1 1/2) screamed and thrashed and mostly wanted to eat the sharp plastic olive spears he had found on the floor. Cara and I were struck that the speech mentioned the word planet twice, and was the first inaugural speech we know of to talk about the specter of a warming planet. As we drove the boys to daycare, Cara's mom who makes vibrationally infused flower remedies, sent her a text. Apparently the speech also used the words "new age" two times as well. Everyone hears what they want.

Hostel not Hostile

While negotiations continued at COP 14, TFG continued the diplomacy after hours. Upholding its commitment to leaving a small footprint in Poznan included forgoing the use of towels. TFG directors shared a room with rivals of REDD without incident. Run by our new friend Tsari, Hostel8 provided a good, clean and often entertaining place to stay.

TFG Attends Forest Day 2 in Poznan

The Tropical Forest Group attended Forest Day 2 ,a COP 14 side event in Poznan today. The talk, US Government Perspectives on Climate Change and Forests was moderated by Brian Murray and Lydia Olander from the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.
William Hohenstein from the Department of Agriculture was asked how the US should be involved in the financing of REDD. He said that viewing developing countries as a block is unfortunate and that expectations should not be the same for all countries. He also expressed concern that developing countries that are not currently deforesting would be left out. Misty McGowan, legislative aid for US Senator Crapo acknowledged that 2008 was a busy year for the 110th Congress and that although s3036, a cap and trade bill did not pass, it provided the push for a serious debate on climate change legislation. She also said that although there is excitement about the incoming administration, there will still be big challenges given the current financial crisis. It is likely that the focus will be on renewable energy, although forestry offsets may be a way to keep mitigation costs down. She also said the US was likely to want to ensure domestic offsets before entering into the international debate. Anthony Brunello, Assistant Secretary for Climate and Energy at California Resources Agency facilitated an uplifting discussion based on California’s leadership in climate change policy, including their current work on developing cap and trade legislation. Although it will not be included in the legislation, forestry is seen as a key offset for California, whose target is to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Governors Global Climate Summit held in California provided an action plan that included calling attention to REDD.

Tropical Forest Group met with COP14 President, Maciej Nowicki, Environment Minister, Poland. In a meeting between the COP 14 President and the RINGO constituency, TFG's Director John-O Niles raised the issue of how REDD appears to have broad support by Parties, but is suffering from a tension between different UNFCCC bodies. John-O asked the President to see if there was a way for the SBSTA meetings (which cover science and technical information) and the AWG-LCA (which addresses the broad topic of a future agreement) to be reconciled. COP14 President Nowicki said he would look into the issue and agreed it was important to make sure the various UNFCCC bodies coordinate so a strong REDD decision can be reached.