At present nobody knows whether forest projects will be eligible for CDM deals, and this will be one of the key issues to be decided when parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change meets in the Hague in November. In Bolivia, for example, an American coal-fired utility has provided funds to protect a vast chunk of forest and lock up 16.5 million tons of carbon over 30 years. MacDicken, who helped do the sums, believes the project makes good sense. Trapping carbon in Bolivia is cheaper, at present, then installing emission-reducing equipment in the States, so the utility gains. The project provides funds for both the Bolivian government and for people who live in the forest.
Nature benefits too.
Forest projects alone won t solve climate change problems, but they could help reduce carbon levels. No, say environmental groups like Greenpeace, who see this as an excuse for industrialised nations to continue polluting. What matters, in their view, is reducing pollution at source. But they also fear that including forest projects in this CDM would reward the least deserving. For example, some people have suggested that in countries like Indonesia, where fire causes major forest losses, CDM money could be used to pay plantation companies not to set fire to the forests.