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Tackling climate change on a global scale – the COP 20 in Peru

Tuesday, 9. December 2014 - 17:38

The UN framework convention on climate change (COP 20), under way in in the Peruvian capital Lima, will not produce a global climate treaty. That will depend on reaching a series of agreements with the 20 nations that emit 80% of total global greenhouse emissions (GHG), and the economic sectors that have the biggest impact on the world’s climate. However, it could pave the way for a treaty being signed in Paris next year that will be seen as a turning point in reducing global warming.

Agriculture, forestry and climate

After the energy sector, agriculture, forestry and other land use accounts for the largest amount of global greenhouse gas emissions – about 25%. The recent UN Climate Summit’s New York Declaration on Forests names soy, palm oil, beef and paper production as the cause of half of global deforestation – and calls for ending deforestation by 2030. If that goal is reached, it would be the equivalent to eliminating the GHG emissions of all the world’s cars or of the entire US economy.

Doing what works

A Rainforest Alliance delegation is presenting some of its work at COP 20 to reduce the impact of agriculture and forestry on the world’s climate, and increasing the sectors’ sustainability.

In Brazil, for example, the alliance has certified the first sustainable, deforestation-free cattle ranches and is promoting sustainable ranching. In the Andean Amazon it is demonstrating how different approaches can work together, from sustainable ranching in Colombia to commercial reforestation in Ecuador, to the sustainable harvest of timber and non-timber forest products, such as like palm fruit, in Peru.

These programs cut GHG emissions, protect Amazon forests and restore degraded land, and also improve agricultural productivity and the income and livelihood of rural producers that are feeling the impact of climate change directly.

Farmers at risk

People living on atolls and coastal flood zones aren’t the only ones displaced by climate change. Smallholder farmers, community foresters and others whose livelihoods depend on the land are also at risk. For example, climate change threatens coffee farmers’ way of life in Oaxaca, Mexico. Some farmers, such as Leandro Salinas, are retooling to grow climate-friendly coffee. In this video, Salinas says: “Even though we know we aren’t causing [climate change] – it’s others who are causing it – we, too, must do something.”

Farmers and foresters need finance, know-how and technology to cope with the impact of climate change. They also need incentives and viable alternatives to keep from clearing more forest for crops or timber. Without these things, deforestation is likely to increase, causing GHG emissions to rise.

The UN climate treaty process and the discussions under way in Lima recognizes this. The outcomes from COP 20 could include more support for regional and bilateral agreements, and for helping farmers and foresters work in sustainable, climate-smart ways. That could help lay the foundations for a global treaty in Paris at COP 21 to create a sustainable world economy.

Jeff Hayward

Source: 
www.theguardian.com
Tags: 
COP 20
global warming
greenhouse emissions
Lima
UN climate change