PRESS RELEASE

November 14 , 2000

The Pacific Forest Trust Commends Inclusion
of Forest Carbon Sinks Credits in the Kyoto Protocol

Santa Rosa, CA — This week, delegates from over 160 countries are gathering at The Hague, Netherlands as part of the sixth Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. This meeting is particularly significant as the Parties face the question of whether forests should be considered in the Protocol as a means of reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, and if so, how they should be included. Loss and unsustainable management of forests is known to be the second largest source of CO₂ emissions.

The US position supports rules for the broad inclusion of forests and other land uses that reduce CO₂ emissions. According to the United States, such activities should be eligible for carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. PFT President Laurie Wayburn commended the US’s position saying, "Done right, this is a tremendous opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, create a new economy, and support forest conservation."

According to Ms. Wayburn "done right" means three things. First of all, credits for carbon sequestration must be additional to carbon stored as a result of business as usual. Second, forests included in carbon accounting should be managed for the permanent sequestration of carbon so that emissions reductions are lasting and conservation co-benefits are realized. Finally, credits must be verified by independent third parties.

PFT’s recommendations are further articulated in a recently released report "Forest Carbon in the United States: Opportunities and Options for Private Lands," co-authored by PFT and several leading scientists.

Inclusion of credit for forest-based activities that reduce CO₂ emissions in the Protocol would create a new market for forest stewardship and conservation. It would create a structure under which landowners could be paid for keeping land in forest and for increased stewardship of those forests. Keeping land in forest, not only reduces carbon dioxide emissions from forest loss, but also increases sequestration and provides numerous co-benefits to forest ecosystems such as biodiversity and watershed conservation.

"Managing forest for carbon by growing older forests with greater stocks of carbon also provides more habitat for species, enhances water quality and augments local forest economies, "said Professor John Gordon of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, "This is a win-win opportunity."

A recent press release from The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supports this position saying, "Climate policies can be more economically and environmentally effective if they are integrated into national plans for sustainable development. Win-win policies that simultaneously meet the objectives of more than one environmental convention … should be encouraged as much as possible."