Australia plays leading role in international efforts to reduce deforestation
Australia is playing a leading role in international efforts to reduce deforestation, which causes approximately 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
At the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference today, Australia joined 50 countries in agreeing a Partnership for global action to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, commonly referred to as REDD+.
Australia’s Climate Change Ambassador, Louise Hand, said accelerated global action would improve the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and coordination of initiatives to tackle deforestation—a core element of the Copenhagen Accord. Outcomes from this new international Partnership would feed into United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and December’s Mexico conference.
"Financing for action on deforestation is already flowing", Ms Hand said. Around US$4 billion of fast-start financing has already been committed to support efforts to reduce emissions from forests in developing countries, including a substantial contribution from Australia (the International Forest Carbon Initiative is now a $273 million program over six years).
As part of the Partnership, Australia's Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and counterparts in France and Papua New Guinea, today released the first report which provides a global overview of efforts to address deforestation and forest degradation at the conference in Norway.
"The report, REDD+ Financing and Activities Survey, provides the most comprehensive overview available of current and planned financing and action to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, based on submissions from thirty-three countries and organisations.
"The report provides, for the first time, a consolidated picture of global efforts to build capacity, finance and implement activities to address deforestation and forest degradation. Previously, only limited analysis of international efforts could be found in a number of studies undertaken by various institutions and research bodies.
"The report is an important first step in building a shared understanding of existing and planned efforts to tackle deforestation. The information will support effective, transparent and coordinated international action. Importantly, it will also help to identify any gaps in global efforts, and highlight areas of potential future cooperation," Ms Hand said.
The REDD+ Financing and Activities Survey, as well as the REDD+ Partnership agreement and individual country and organisation information sheets are available on the Oslo Climate and Forest conference website.
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