Tag Archives: forest degradation

At the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17), 20,000 negotiators and stakeholders from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Durban, South Africa. Although many countries are taking steps to curb GHG emissions as part of the global fight against climate change, there is little hope of a binding international agreement this year. After COP 15 in Copenhagen, there was considerable well warranted pessimism, and after COP16 in Cancun, …

Here is a quick review of some of the best and the worst environmental stories of 2010. BEST: Mass Production of Electric Cars Cars and trucks are responsible for a quarter of US carbon emissions. However, this year, both Chevrolet and Nissan were amongst a slew of car makers who launched electric vehicles. Even SUVs, crossovers, luxury cars, station wagons and hatchbacks are getting more efficient. Social Media Activism Working for the …

There was an extensive debate in the lead-in to the Kyoto Protocol (and after) about whether incentives for reducing deforestation would be recognized as a part of the agreement.  For a number of reasons countries didn’t agree to include deforestation incentives, but did agree to allow increased forest cover to count.  Unfortunately a lot of the world’s forests were lost in the meantime. But …

Last week we wrote about REDD, the program to stop deforestation and forest degradation. REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, will be a key aspect of any viable agreement reached this December in Copenhagen. The rate of rainforest destruction is alarming. Estimates indicate they will be virtually destroyed by the end of the century unless a way if found to stop …

A high-level meeting at the United Nations discussed ways to implement REDD, a plan to halt deforestation and significantly reduce global carbon emissions.