Numbers presented by the Brazilian Association of Carbon Market Companies (Abemc) show that the inclusion of mechanisms for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), during the negotiation for a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, could generate revenues of US$ 8 billion to US$ 16 billion for Brazil in carbon credits.
Today, REDD mechanisms, which consider standing forests as carbon credits, are not eligible for the Kyoto Protocol, which accepts just two possibilities of credit for forestry areas: reforestation and aforestation (in areas where there was never any forest).
"Forestry conservation, avoided deforestation related to REDD, are not yet part of this protocol," said Abemc president Flávio Rufino Gazani.
The president at the organization said that the government of Brazil, after having rejected the inclusion of native forests in Kyoto Protocol, recently changed its position and is now signaling with the possibility of including these mechanisms in the proposals to be taken to the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15), in Copenhagen, in December.
"The idea of including this matter is for the next agreement to contemplate this need, be it a continuation of Kyoto Protocol or a new agreement," he said.
To Gazani, REDD should be a method for conservation of forests associated to sustainable exploration in specific areas, and should not forecast just the maintenance of standing forests.
ABr
