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Action on forestry emissions at Poznan

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE News Release (2008/022) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 12 December 2008

-Mission statement backed by developed and developing countries

-UK announces £100m to help protect forest environment

The United Kingdom will contribute £100 million to reduce the impact of deforestation on the world's climate, whilst supporting those who are most dependent on the forests for their livelihoods, UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband will announce in Poznan, Poland today [Friday 12 December].

The funding will help ensure that economic growth in rainforest countries is sustainable; allowing nations to develop and improve their infrastructure without negative impacts on their local forest environment.

Mr Miliband is to add that around 17% of all greenhouse gas
emissions (18% of all carbon dioxide emissions alone) are due to forestry and land use change and that it is a major cause of emissions in developing countries.

In addition to new investment, ministers from developed and developing countries alike joined forces to agree how they would take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and encourage sustainable management and conservation, signing a mission statement at a special event on Friday to demonstrate their commitment.

Speaking at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Poznan, Poland, Ed Miliband said:

"Protecting and replenishing the planet's forests is essential to tackling climate change. Today, developed and developing countries have come together to chart a way forward so that we can tackle climate change and make lives better for people who live in forest communities. And this agreement embodies the spirit of co-operation we need with everyone accepting they have a part to play in tackling climate change, including the need for finance. What we have to do next is to translate this spirit into of co-operation into a global agreement next year."

Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander said:

"Climate change will hit the world's poorest people the hardest. Protecting the forests in developing countries is vital in cutting carbon emissions but this must be done hand in hand with ensuring communities can still feed themselves and earn a living.

"The funding we have announced today will support activities in developing countries such as enabling farmers to make a living in ways that mean they don't have to cut down more forests. Our funding will back the vital steps we hope to see in these talks towards achieving a climate change agreement that's fair for all."

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said:

"We are already witnessing the damaging effects of climate change on forest biodiversity and the ecosystems upon which we all depend.

"An agreement to limit the emissions caused by deforestation and degradation of forests will be crucial to ensuring that we conserve forests, their biodiversity, soil and water for the future."

The joint statement sets out what both rainforest countries and the international community should be working towards in order to protect the world's forests.

Signatories from developing countries show their willingness to develop national strategies working in cooperation with relevant stakeholders - including indigenous peoples, other civil society groups and the private sector - to analyse the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Establishing national systems for monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions will be vital parts of these strategies in order to produce credible results.

Developed countries agreeing to the statement affirm that they stand ready to support capacity building for countries to develop such strategies and to reward those who can quickly move to demonstrating results in reducing emissions in a measurable and verifiable manner.

The statement also underlines the importance of improved cooperation and rationalization between funding agencies, particularly as all countries work towards finalising a global deal in Copenhagen 2009.

Notes for editors

1. Poznan, Poland is hosting the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Negotiations are currently half way through a two year process which began in Bali and aims to close in Copenhagen, 2009.

2. A copy of the statement will be issued with this press notice.

3. A definitive list of countries signing up to this statement will be available on Friday 12 December.

4. Agreement to include reduced emissions from deforestation in developing countries in a future climate change agreement was reached during UNFCCC discussions in Bali December 2007.

5. The UK has already committed £15 million to supporting demonstration efforts under the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and £60 million to the Congo Basin Forest Fund.

6. One of the first initiatives for the Congo Basin Forest Fund will be to gather baseline information. In collaboration with the Brazilian government, the UK will be sending a British satellite camera to Brazil that will provide high resolution images of the Congo Basin forest.

7. The World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility aims to build developing countries' capacity to engage in a future REDD mechanism and test ways of making payments in return for emissions savings through the sustainable management of forests, in the period up to 2012.

8. The Congo Basin Forest Fund aims to slow the rate of deforestation by developing the capacity of people and institutions in the Congo Basin countries to manage their forests and helping local communities find livelihoods that are consistent with the conservation of forests.

9. The £100 million funding will come from the Environmental Transformation Fund, which is an £800 million joint DFID - DECC fund, set up to support developing countries facing the challenges of Climate Change. The fund will be channelled through the multi-donor Climate Investment Funds.