Forests after Copenhagen - moves on protecting forests stalled

The Wilderness Society Inc
Joint Media Release
19 December 2009

Australia will continue not to account for logging emissions

Returning from the bitterly disappointing UN Copenhagen Climate Change conference where world leaders failed and talks collapsed delivering only a weak agreement insufficient to go anywhere near tackling the global threat, the Wilderness Society delivered their initial prognosis on the wash up for forests and ecosystems.

Developed countries, including Australia, were under pressure to compulsorily account for the large emissions caused by logging, something Australia and others currently evade doing under the Kyoto Protocol. However faced with this proposed change the developed nations were attempting to secure unacceptable accounting rules that would have had the effect of hiding much of those logging emissions. This proposed accounting loophole for logging had created an outcry.

Changes on logging emissions have been stymied for the meantime and the move towards cheating on logging emissions accounting failed, opening up the opportunity for concerned citizens to push for Australia and other developed countries to not only account transparently for the emissions impacts of logging, but to also be obliged to protect more forests as a buffer against climate change.

In the meanwhile Australia will continue to avoid accounting for emissions from logging.

In relation to the mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD), the Copenhagen Accord contains a paragraph of commitment to its development, but the good progress made towards protecting intact natural forests and the rights of indigenous peoples in those forests has been stalled and could go backwards before any agreement on this is finalized in a year’s time.

“The failure of Copenhagen is an awful blow to hopes for the planet and the millions of people who will suffer the impacts of climate change, and it also leaves to fate of the world’s forests unresolved,” said the Wilderness Society’s lead negotiator at Copenhagen, Peg Putt.

“Protecting intact natural forests is a simple, fast and effective way to reduce carbon emissions but progress towards doing this in developing countries is now stalled because in Copenhagen world leaders couldn’t deliver a strong meaningful agreement, or even the hope of one.”

“Developed countries have been evading making any commitment whatsoever to protecting their own forests, so at least the global delay in taking action gives us all the opportunity to demand that they do so and drop the double standard of demanding forest protection in developing countries that they are not prepared to do at home.”

“In Australia the Labor government and the Liberal Opposition must both make a commitment to forest protection for a climate solution.”

“Australia must also be prepared to account transparently for its logging emissions and must end the situation where these large emissions are not in the greenhouse gas accounts, and go to the next negotiations showing leadership on forest emissions policy.”

“People will be shocked to learn that one result of the failure at Copenhagen is that Australia will not have to account for the large emissions caused by logging.”



The Ecosystems Climate Alliance (ECA) is an alliance of environment and social NGOs committed to keeping natural terrestrial ecosystems intact and their carbon out of the atmosphere, in an equitable and transparent way that respects the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. ECA comprises Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Global Witness, Humane Society International, Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Foundation Norway, The Rainforest Foundation U.K., Wetlands International and The Wilderness Society, Nepenthes, and the Australian Orangutan Project.