Copyright © Dene Miles /TNC Photo Contest 2019
FEATURED NEWS
‘A ray of hope’: Forest destruction in Brazil and Colombia has fallen ‘dramatically’
Sky News,Victoria Seabrook, 4 April
Sky News covers new data from World Resources Institute that finds the overall rate of tropical primary forest loss worldwide fell nine percent last year, thanks to significant strides towards tackling rampant deforestation in Brazil and Colombia. However, the world still lost an area of rainforest equivalent to 10 football pitches every single minute last year, as forest destruction rose sharply in several key rainforest countries in Latin America and Asia in 2023. In Brazil and Colombia tropical deforestation fell 36 percent and 49 percent respectively in 2023 compared to 2022, but sharp increases in forest loss in Bolivia, Laos and Democratic Republic of Congo as well as modest increases elsewhere kept tropical deforestation rates high. Mongabay notes that the new data shows 2030 goal to achieve net-zero deforestation is still moving farther out of reach, and that fires driven by climate change in countries like Canada are making the challenge worse as progress on human-driven deforestation occurs. The New York Times shares a study presenting new methods to identify illegally harvested wood, raising hopes that more could be done to limit this illicit trade and illegal forest loss.
Carbon Credits Market to Get a Huge Boost as Rules Relaxed
Bloomberg, Frances Schwartzkopff, Natasha White, and Alastair Marsh, 10 April
Bloomberg covers a major announcement from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) that it will allow companies to use carbon credits and other environmental attribute certificates to abate certain Scope 3 emissions, relaxing earlier guidance and galvanizing the voluntary carbon market. “SBTi’s decision “signals a crucial shift towards the acceptance of carbon credits in corporate climate strategies, promising to boost both the market and the efficacy of these credits in achieving real-world climate action.” The news was also covered in Greenbiz, BusinessGreen, among others. Quantum Commodity Intelligence reports that the reaction from market participants to the SBTi announcement has been positive, but that some NGOs have criticized the decision. Supporters emphasize that the SBTi decision will unlock the additional finance and action needed to enable companies to meet science-based climate goals.
In other carbon market news, S&P Global reports that the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market announced carbon credit project assessors Gold Standard, Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and ACR have all been approved as adhering to its Carbon Core Principles (CCPs) criteria. The CCP accreditation process forms a critical pillar of efforts to boost confidence in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) among companies and investors following a number of high-profile allegations of ‘junk’ carbon credits being sold.
Rio Tinto Faces Possible Norway Fund Divestment Over Alleged Deforestation Links
The Wall Street Journal, Julie Steinberg, 3 April
The Wall Street Journal reports Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund is considering divesting its multibillion-dollar stake in global mining giant Rio Tinto over deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The divestment would be a major blow to Rio Tinto’s efforts to confirm it can avoid other instances of deforestation and environmental degradation that have plagued its past. Mongabay dives into the world of gold mining in Brazil where deforestation is often associated with small exploration companies and illegal miners that clear the land first, before selling the land or gold to larger corporations who avoid the consequences of investors and other stakeholders holding them accountable for nature loss. The Guardian covers a lawsuit led by the state of New York against major Brazilian meatpacker for misleading customers about its climate commitments and the potential the lawsuit might have on greenwashing within the private sector. Reuters shares a commentary calling upon the US Congress to protect investors from the financial risks of emissions from deforestation that occurs in many food companies’ supply chains.
A Dubai company’s staggering land deals in Africa raise fears about risks to Indigenous livelihoods
Associated Press,Taiwo Adebayo, 7 April
Associated Press reports on the carbon deals struck between Dubai-based Blue Carbon and several African nations for forest conservation projects that have left many observers concerned over the large tracts of land now under the company’s control and the impacts these deals will have on local populations. Reuters explores the efforts by forest communities around the world to ensure they are included in the development and benefits of carbon credit projects for forest conservation. Eco-Business covers the potential fall out that can occur for forest communities that depend on carbon credit project revenues as prices for forest conservation credit prices fall and buyer interest decreases. Forbes carries a commentary sharing how communities in Kenya are utilizing carbon credit revenues from nature conservation proving that sustainability, conservation and livelihoods can go hand in hand.
How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain
The New York Times, Lydia DePillis, 4 April
The New York Times reviews how lands devastated by wildfires have been able to use carbon credit financing to fund reforestation efforts. Scientific American reports that reforestation efforts may have helped keep some parts of the eastern US cool despite rising warming temperatures driven by climate change.
SPOTLIGHT – How to talk about NCS
The naturebase team shares new research on how to effectively communicate with government officials and policy advisors about natural climate solutions based on interviews conducted with key stakeholders in Brazil, India and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a recent briefing, the team shared their findings and a new report now available to download.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Rights and Resources Initiative and Rainforest Foundation Norway release the new Path to Scale dashboard, a new open-source online tool that gives easy access to donor funding data for Indigenous Peoples’, Afro-descendant Peoples’, and local communities’ tenure and forest guardianship.
MIT CEEPR shares an estimated supply curve for forest-based atmospheric CO2 removal, tracing the marginal cost of removing a metric ton of CO2 as a function of total annual CO2 removal.
IATP publishes a report examining the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a farmer-focused conservation cost-share program run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
UNEP releases the 2024 Climate Risk Landscape Report, which serves as a comprehensive resource delving into the available tools for financial institutions to assess physical and transition climate risks and boost their institution’s resilience to related impacts.
WBCSD shares the second edition of the Land Use Finance quarterly newsletter, created to provide highlights and news from the Forest Investor Club (FIC) and Forest Finance Risk Consortium (FFRC), and their members and partners.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability publishes a paper examining the evolving landscape of biodiversity reporting standards, describing their underlying rationale and anticipated effects, and highlighting unresolved issues that impede the provision of ‘good’ information to markets and other report users.
Carbon Majors launches a database of historic production data from 122 of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers, finding that 57 producers are directly linked to 80% of the world’s global fossil CO2 emissions since the 2016 Paris climate agreement.
EDF and Deloitte publish a joint guide to equip food companies with actionable guidance to more strategically advance ambitious climate targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) guidance.
World Resources Institute shares an update to Forest Pulse, which draws on the most recent data and analysis to reveal the latest trends in global forest loss and deforestation. Updated data shows that while deforestation decreased in Brazil and Colombia, overall deforestation has remained consistent.
Youth4Nature shares case studies, major wins, and impacts from their climate education bootcamp, demonstrating how implementing nature-based solutions should include people, especially the frontline communities.
CASE STUDY
N4C is compiling an index of NBS case studies, together with an interactive map, to highlight action on the ground. Each week, we will be choosing a case study to present, to help give concrete examples of work being done to bring NBS theory into practice.
Community-led Restoration of Native Remnant Forests in Amhara
WHERE: AMHARA, ETHIOPIA
TYPE OF NCS SOLUTION: RESTORE
In the Gewocha Forest and its surrounding communities, inadequate farm and grazing land management has resulted in soil degradation and decreased land productivity. This project works to re-establish the structure, species diversity, and density of the highly degraded forest, with the goal of rehabilitating 1143 ha of land. Organizers are collaborating with 14 local communities to introduce agroforestry practices on smallholder farmland. So far, 670 ha are under restoration, growing 479,264 trees.
NUMBER OF THE WEEK – 7.5 MtCO2e/yr
The annual carbon dioxide emissions that could be avoided by Colombia meeting its potential to avoid forest conversion by 2050. New data on global deforestation in 2023 shows that Colombia has made positive progress in reducing deforestation by 49 percent compared to 2022. See more details on the potential for natural climate solutions in N4C’s naturebase.
GOOD NEWS
How to ‘stop mining before it starts’: Interview with community organizer Carlos Zorrilla
Carlos Zorrilla is a leader in what locals say is the longest continuous resistance movement against mining in Latin America. Zorrilla and the organizations he co-founded, including DECOIN (Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag), helped block five transnational mining companies and a national company from developing operations in one of the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems. In the process, Zorrilla and community members say they faced personal threats, smear campaigns, arrests and violence. But the movement also notched historic wins, including a constitutional case upholding the rights of nature against Chilean state-owned miner Codelco and the Ecuadorian national mining company in 2023.
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In the Gewocha Forest and its surrounding communities, inadequate farm and grazing land management has resulted in soil degradation and decreased land productivity.
Case Study