Biofuels and Carbon Markets Are No Answer to Global Warming

COMMUNITY NEWS

The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) is present in Bali, Indonesia, for the 13th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, 3rd-14th December, with a team of campaigners from around the world, including Indigenous Peoples' representatives, to expose the false 'solutions' - agrofuels and carbon markets - being promoted by many governments and companies.

It is now increasingly recognised that these failing solutions are also having devastating impacts on the world's 854 million chronically hungry people, 1.6 billion forest-dependent people and on forests and biodiversity around the globe. There is also growing evidence that many are even making climate change worse.

However, these so-called 'solutions' have certainly worked for those governments and companies supporting them - but only because they have generated windfall profits and subsidies for the world's richest transnational companies, who have discovered that there are huge profits to be made out of commercialising carbon; and because they have allowed governments to be seen to be doing something without making any difficult decisions.

“Governments are here to stop climate change, not promote carbon commercialisation. They should keep forests out of carbon markets, stop subsidising agrofuels and say a resounding No! to the World Bank's planned Forest Carbon Partnership Facility," Dr Miguel Lovera, Chair of the GFC, said. "They need to roll their sleeves up and get on with the very real and urgent task of stopping climate change immediately. There's no time left to make any more mistakes!”

Many effective 'tried and tested' processes, technologies, transport systems and regulations, that cut emissions at source and provide social and ecological benefits, already exist. These include (to name just a few) bans on deforestation, converting to more sustainable wind and solar energy sources and ramping up investment in efficient and affordable public transport systems.

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