Breaking News - Brazil will support REDD with conditions

This is a major development in the world of climate change and tropical forests. Brazil has long opposed REDD-like credits for reductions in deforestation. This evolution in a negotiating position suggests that if the talks at large can succeed, REDD will also happen. There are no other nations with such clout that remain opposed to REDD. This. Is. Mega.

World Leaders meet in London on climate, REDD advances slightly again

The latest hope for a breakthrough in international climate change negotiations happened this past week in London. There was some progress overall and more signals that some funding mechanism for REDD must be kick-started before the compliance market arrives....see below excerpt from the official communication.

At a dinner of the Leaders’ representatives, it was noted that developing countries are developing ambitious REDD+ plans and financing their own efforts. The need for urgently and significantly scaled up international finance for REDD+ was discussed, ahead of linkage to the market. Such finance could be for capacity building, to leverage private sector investment and for payment by results, accommodating different national circumstances. It was suggested that existing institutions propose investment instruments and how to improve coherence.

For more background, please see:
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-21-london-MEF-brown-climate-talks/

Standard Bank Poised To Launch $230 Million Forest Fund

Another large new fund, which seems to be directed at reforestation and afforestation in Australia.

Guidebook on CDM legal issues

This Guidebook addresses a wide range of legal and regulatory issues arising from the domestic laws, regulations and policies of CDM Host Countries that can affect the development and implementation of CDM projects.

Many of the findings are pertinent to REDD and other coming environmental services.

Hope fades for climate deal

Non-Paper 18 on REDD (latest negotiating text)

Several people have asked for the latest text from the Bangkok climate change talks on REDD. TFG will be providing an analysis of the text in coming weeks. The paper, or non-paper actually, is technically entitled:

Non-paper No. 18∗
08/10/09 @ 11:00
CONTACT GROUP ON ENHANCED ACTION ON MITIGATION AND
ITS ASSOCIATED MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
Subgroup on paragraph 1 (b) (iii)
of the Bali Action Plan
(Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries;
and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement
of forest carbon stocks in developing countries)
Revised annex III C to document FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/INF.2

NYT answers TFG question on governance and REDD

Andrew Revkin (Environment reporter) and Erica Goode (Environment editor) recently answered a series of questions on the environment as part of the "Talk to the Times" series. They even took one from TFG on REDD and governance. The link to the discussion is in the title bar of the blog.

Governors urge Presidents on forests

11 Governors from the US, Indonesia and Brazil have sent a letter to their respective Presidents (Obama, Yudhoyono, and Lula) asking them to form a new trasnational partnership on forests and climate change. This is a critical development, as many of the most innovative and at-scale REDD+ activities are occurring at the state, district and province levels. This smaller-than-national and larger-than-project scale is a natural place also to see innovation in rule making. Currently, there is plenty of excitement and opportunity for REDD in the world, but until there are compliant-grade rules, investors, donors, and AID investments in REDD will be on hold.

Excellent Ecosystem Marketplace article on REDD status

Old Issues Stagger REDD in End Game
by Unna Chokkalingam

Ecosystem Marketplace covers the latest breaking news on the text of REDD+ for Copenhagen. This is must reading for anyone following the talks closely.

Copyright © 2009, The Ecosystem Marketplace, http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com

IPCC Pachauri hints at possible deforestation deal

Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in a Reuters article, says talks in Copenhagen will likely go to the wire. That is obvious. Any possible deal will come late in the evening of December 18th, but even more likely in the early morning hours of the 19th.

What was most interesting about his interview was the notion that...

"Apart from possible deals on emission cuts by rich nations and finance for actions by developing countries to fight global warming, Pachauri said the world could also ink a pact to avoid deforestation.".

Given that REDD is far advanced ahead of other sectors in the UNFCCC process, given that international forest carbon is a major component of both House and Senate US legislation, and given the Governor's Climate Summits have a separate track for climate and forests, a deforestation deal would be the natural item that governments should be able to get across the line. The question is whether you can have a mechanism that uses carbon markets to arrest deforestation if the carbon markets themselves are not solved.

The original article is hyper-linked in the blog title.

Senate moves toward nuclear for Republican votes

NYT covers the latest negotiations in the US Senate on Cap and Trade.