Deforestation and Climate Change as linked to EU Policy

Transcription

1 Deforestation and Climate Change as linked to EU Policy CESA/ISEG, Lisbon, 27 April 2018 Walter Kennes European Commission (ex DEVCO), ECDPM L1 1

2 Plan Some basic facts on forests and climate Drivers of deforestation REDD+ origin and main characteristics REDD+ finance and implementation EU FLEGT initiative EU Timber Regulation Examples of REDD+ projects Outlook for REDD+ and FLEGT L1 2

3 Forests and climate change Some basic facts Tropical deforestation is 7 m ha (was 13 m) per year, which accounts for about % of global emissions 60 million (mostly) indigenous people live in forests 800 million people live near forests Forests contribute to the livelihood of around 1.6 billion people (full livelihood of most indigenous peoples) Value of ecosystem services by tropical forests estimated between $6000 and $16000 per ha per year Forests cover 4 bn hectares or around 30% of world s land area Annual wood removal 3 bn m3 (half for woodfuel)

4 Forests and climate change Some basic facts (cont.) In addition to being a major carbon sink, forest services contribute to climate adaptation Regulation of water flow (disaster risk reduction) Coastal protection (mangrove forests) Other forest services include: Conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources, Provision of bushmeat, honey, other products (eco) tourism Increased importance of a/reforestation (mostly in temporate zone) Forest plantations: around 7 % of total forest area

5 Drivers of deforestation World population increase and economic growth lead to rising demand for food and agricultural products Agricultural expansion represents around 75% of global deforestation Meat consumption pushes demand for grazing land and feed Palm oil, cocoa, rubber, bananas, coffee, biofuel etc. Some deforestation is linked to poverty and livelihood: Low yield subsistence agriculture Use of firewood and charcoal Amazon and South East Asian deforestation mostly for agriculture; African and Congo Basin deforestation is much linked to poverty and livelyhood

6 Drivers of deforestation (cont.) Illegal logging is linked to around 20% of deforestation and especially forest degradation; Illegal logging is sometimes linked to conflicts and human rights violations; 20 to 40 % of forest products exports may be from illegal source; annual loss in government tax revenue in developing countries $ 5 bln Plus estimated loss of $10 bln depressed prices Deforestation results also from urbanisation, infrastructure, mining, etc. Generally weak forest governance makes deforestation possible and attractive

7 Deforestation in some countries Annual loss (source FAO) Brazil 984 (thousand ha) 0.2 % Indonesia % Myanmar % Nigeria % Tanzania % Paraguay % Zimbabwe % DRC % Argentina % Venezuela %

8 EU policy on forests and climate change COM (2008) 645 addressing the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss EU target global deforestation to be reduced by 50 % by 2020 and reversed by 2030 Recommended action areas include: Improving forest governance Encouraging eco-labellng and forest certification Increased finance is needed Use a share of future ETS auctioning revenues (5% or 2 bn/yr) Consider forestry credits in ETS after 2020

9 Sustainable Development Goals and forests SDG 15: protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Target 2: by 2020 promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

10 Origin RED (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation) The Stern report (2007) pointed out that reducing deforestation is one of the most cost-effective options to reduce emissions and to combat global warming Since the Bali COP in 2007 RED has figured prominently in the climate negotiations Basic principle: establish reference level to measure reductions in CO2 over time and pay for the carbon Many practical problems: are emission reductions real? Are they lasting, how to prevent reversals, risk of forest fires? Who decides? Which price for carbon? Should non CO2 benefits be included and how? Who pays? Who benefits and how much?

11 From RED to REDD+ Initial concept of deforestation was gradually broadened into REDD+ by including: Forest degradation Forest conservation Sustainable forest management Enhancement of forest carbon stock The Warsaw COP decisions in 2013 created a legal framework for REDD+ Forest monitoring; assessment of reference levels; verification Drivers of deforestation; forest governance Coordination, information sharing, financing The Paris Agreement (2015) incorporates the REDD+ framework (Article 5)

12 REDD+ implementation Usually 3 phases are considered: Readiness and preparation in the form of projects Demonstration, capacity building, projects Results based payment for carbon Financing for REDD+ is predominantly public UN-REDD (FAO, UNDP, UNEP) Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) World Bank Forest Investment Programme (FIP) World Bank Norway (Indonesia, Guyana), Germany, UK Green Climate Fund (among initial result areas) Very few private funds; small voluntary CO2 market (eg to compensate air travel)

13 EU support for REDD Most support provided for readiness, demonstration, capacity building in the form of projects Contributions to multilateral initiatives such as FCPF and UN-REDD EU REDD Facility managed by European Forest Institute REDD is one of the focal areas of the EU Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) How is EU support implemented? Several calls for proposals for REDD projects; all the calls are published on DEVCO website

14 Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) FLEGT Action Plan 2003 Combat illegal logging by improving governance Ensure that producing countries can only export legal timber to the EU through bilateral trade agreements called Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) Legislation to prevent illegal timber to be put on the EU market Promote public procurement systems in EU Member States that require verification of legality Provide support to developing countries exporting timber to promote legality Start of FLEGT negotiations 2007

15 Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) Definition of legality Supply chain control System of verification Work out a licensing system Independent monitoring VPA negotiations between European Commission and partner Governments, involving also private sector, NGOs and indigenous peoples Considerable EU financial support (topped up by some MS) for the FLEGT process (EFI- EU FLEGT facility)

16 State of VPA negotiation and implementation Negotiations concluded, implementation under way with: Ghana, Indonesia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Liberia, Republic of Congo Negotiations ongoing with: Côte D Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Guyana, Honduras, Laos, Malaysia (since 2007), Thailand, Vietnam Various initiatives with other producer and consumer countries including China and India. Close contacts with other large importers such as US, Japan, Australia In November 2016 first FLEGT licensed timber shipment arrived in Antwerp from Indonesia.

17 EU Timber Regulation EU Timber Regulation adopted 20 October 2010 and entered into force on 3 March 2013 Prohibition to place illegal timber on the EU market (in all 28 EU Member States, from whichever source Operators must exercise due diligence to evaluate and mitigate the risk (information on suppliers, concession of harvest, species etc.) Competent authorities designated in MS to make compliance checks; fines and seizures possible Monitoring organisations to verify due diligence FLEGT licenses and CITES permits are acceptable for compliance; private certification like FSC only facilitates.

18 FLEGT REDD+ synergies FLEGT is an EU initiative responding to the global concern of combatting illegal logging REDD+ is a multilateral initiative originating in the climate negotiations to help emission reductions Both are complementary: FLEGT aims to improve forest governance, which is a pre-condition for REDD+ that requires adequate verification and prevention of reversals Stakeholders of both initiatives are the same Example: Norway agreed to support REDD+ in Guyana, but called for Guyana to negotiate VPA

19 Global Climate Change Alliance EU (DEVCO) initiative since 2007 to help the most climate vulnerable countries that have the least responsibility for global warming Priorities: Adaptation with emphasis on agriculture Reducing deforestation Disaster risk reduction (Hyogo framework) Clean Development Mechanism Integrate climate in development strategy

20 Where is GCCA providing support? Belize, Guyana, Jamaica Regional: CCCCC and OECS Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, East Timor Regional: Mekong River Mozambique, Mali, Tanzania, Senegal, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Gambia, Benin, Uganda, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Tchad, Djibouti, DRC, Burkina, RCA, Seychelles, Mauritius Regional: COMESA, ECOWAS/CILLS, ClimDev Africa Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, PNG Regional: University of South Pacific, SPC Sector programmes Budget support Mainstreaming workshops Mainstreaming programmes

21 Examples of REDD+ projects Guyana: replanting of mangrove forest to protect the coastal area ( 4.4 m) Preservation of Amazon forest in Colombia ( 2.5m) REDD pilot projects with indigenous peoples in Pacific Island States ( 2m) Sustainable forest management in Guinea Bisau ( 3m) Sustainable management of peatland forest in South East Asia ( 3 m) New project in the ASEAN regional cooperation programme ( 20m + 4m from DE): Sustainable use of peatland and haze mitigation

22 Sustainable use of peatland and haze mitigation in ASEAN Wetland peat forests in ASEAN cover around 25 million ha (half of all tropical peat soils) CO2 storage of 68 billion tons Drainage (for palm oil), degradation and fires lead to Annual emissions of 2 billion tons representing around 5% of world emissions and more than half of total EU emissions Moreover, resulting haze is a major health problem in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia (50 million people affected; 2015 was extremely bad because of El Nino) Project components: national action plans; protection of intact peatland; optimise water management; prediction and monitoring of fires; involving local communities

23 Outlook for REDD+ and FLEGT FLEGT, REDD+ and related initiatives have since 2000 greatly increased awareness of the importance of forest conservation and sustainable forest management; This contributed to a decline in tropical deforestation of around 50 % Moving to 100% and to a reversal still remains a big challenge FLEGT gets strong support from EU Member States (in particular UK) and from civil society (UK intends to continue after Brexit) VPA process is rather heavy and time consuming; good application of timber regulation is important; other importers should be encouraged to have similar legislation; regional approach is desirable

24 Outlook for REDD+ and FLEGT (cont.) Financing for REDD+ remains far below what is needed and what is expected by developing countries Probably $1 to $1.5 billion per year is currently available, while estimated needs are around $ 30 billion per year; but fossil fuel subsidies $ 480 billion per year; This could be covered from the $100 billion per year that has been pledged by industrial countries starting 2020 Green Climate Fund should make a major contribution It is a challenge to make the private sector and the carbon market contribute, ambitious emission reductions must be legally binding so that the carbon price can rise; The 2015 Paris Agreement is not enough!

25 Concluding observations Reason for some cautious optimism thanks to REDD, FLEGT and other initiatives: forest governance is improving in many states; deforestation declining, A/R increasing Example President Indonesia: Jokowi Combatting illegal logging remains important, but more attention should be paid to deforestation free commodity trade REDD+ is the broadest system of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), non-carbon services should be more in the picture

26 Concluding observations (cont.) Trees outside forests and agroforestry have interesting potential (the whole landscape, agriculture to be in the picture) Climate change policy is not only matter of fossil fuel issues Ecosystem based adaptation is included in the Paris Agreement 20 % of EU budget ( ) must be climaterelated: to be increased for MFF

27 Documentation Many websites provide a wealth of information: REDD+ negotiations: see UNFCCC UNEP, FAO (UNREDD) World Bank (FCPF, FIP) European Commission DG DEVCO, CLIMA EU Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) European Forest Institute: FLEGT and REDD facilities CIFOR FERN Thank you for your attention.

28 Some references European Commission Communication COM(2003) 251 FLEGT Proposal for an EU Action Plan European Commission Communication COM(2008)645 "Addressing the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss EU Regulation 995/2010 of 20 Oct 2010 laying down the obligations of operators to place timber and timber products on the market. FAO (2015) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 UNEP (2014) Building natural capital: how REDD+ can support a green economy European Commission SWD(2016) 275 Evaluation EU Action Plan for FLEGT Deforestation in Indonesia: for peat s sake, The Economist 26Nov16