Brits 'responsible for rainforest destruction'

Monday, 29 June 2009 12:00 AM

By Alice Cannet

Brits must change the way they consume to prevent deforestation, help climate change and protect the rainforests, MPs said today.

The UK and other developed countries needed to change their patterns of consumption in an urgent effort to save the planet, a report by a select committee of MPs warned.

According to the environmental audit select committee, products consumed by Brits were causing deforestation and could be prevented if the demand for them was reduced.

Deforestation was a huge threat to global climate, the MPs said. It produced more emissions than transport and was the third source of greenhouse gases globally.

Ahead of December's climate change conference in Copenhagen, the committee listed a number of measures designed to limit the causes of deforestation.

It advised the government to limit the demand for the commodities which cause deforestation, in order to remove the economic incentives that currently drive deforestation of the rainforest.

Another recommendation was to take action to ensure that rainforest nations did not rely on deforestation for the sake of their economic development.

It was also suggested that a system of financial incentives could be set up to encourage developing countries to maintain and even re-create their forests.

Committee chair Tim Yeo, said: "Giving rainforest nations money for protecting forests is simply not enough, yet so far negotiations have focused almost exclusively on the design of a payment mechanism.

"Rainforest nations deserve far more support to ensure their own development path does not drive forest degradation."

He continued: "Any international agreement must include practical measures to curb the supply and demand-side causes of deforestation.

"Developed nations in particular must commit themselves to taking steps that will stop business profiting from deforestation and will ensure consumers can choose more sustainable alternatives.

MPs urged the government to lobby a Copenhagen deal which would reduce the economic drives for deforestation and protect the communities whose lives depend on the forests.

Imports of illegal timber work must be banned by the government and those who breached the regulations must face robust sanctions, the MPs insisted.

Strict timber procurement laws must be adopted by the government, local authorities and the public sector in an effort to curb the demand for wood which fuels deforestation.

More work is also needed to assess global agriculture, develop sustainability standards and remove trade-distorting measures such as agricultural and biofuel subsidies.

Mr Yeo added that under the current system, rising commodity prices push up the rate of forest clearance as pressure mounts to transform forest into cultivable land and biofuel plantations.

To break the cycle, he suggested that developed nations applied sustainability standards to all agricultural food and biofuel commodities to reform global agriculture.

Mr Yeo concluded: "The committee was worried by evidence that action being taken under the Forest Carbon Partnership could be undermining work done elsewhere to improve forest governance."

Although projects in developing countries led to a rise in emissions, he said, the countries which had no 'historic responsibility' for greenhouse gas emissions had a right to continue doing so.

"However," he concluded, "the government should ensure that where possible development assistance contributes to the pursuit of a low-carbon pathway for national development and growth."

On Friday, Mr Brown launched a climate change manifesto which looked at ways to encourage public participation and affirm the UK's leadership in the battle against climate change.

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