Stop Deforestation

There is a subplot going on at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Bali. As it unfolds, the key to unlocking opportunities at the conference may lie in a two words: Stop Deforestation! 

Here’s the plan: Imagine if UN delegates agreed to fund a demonstration project that would show how countries working together could stop deforestation  It’s a brilliant idea. It’s also a Trojan Horse.

Inside the horse would be all of the countries who agreed to cooperate on the pilot project. Through this clever mechanism, the UN Conference in Bali could deliver a “coalition of the willing” … including the U.S., China and India … three Kyoto outsiders who have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.  

By 2009, as the script reads, these outsiders would be cooperating as “insiders”, with protocols and schedules developed for working closely together. 

Yesterday, Norway announced that it would commit $2.7 billion dollars to mitigate deforestation in tropical forests. The U.S., the European Union, and others may also pledge their financial support.

Scientists at the prestigious Max Planck Institut say that will take $33 billion a year to make the shift from deforestation to sustainable forest practices. 

Money talks. Money also makes trees grow….