Bonjour Sadhana Forest World !
As the process of securing a strong and ambitious greenhouse gas reduction and global warming mitigation/adaptation treaty moves along quite slowly before the U.N. talks in Copenhagen (December 7-18), Brazil has put forth a potentially game-changing proposal. The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has agreed to slash the deforestation rates of his nation by 80% of its present levels by 2020. This commitment, if pursued to its fullest, would prevent nearly 5 billion tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and dramatically cut the greenhouse gas emissions of Brazil, as deforestation is their major cause of CO2 release and accounts for one-fifth of global carbon release.
From a humanitarian perspective, preserving the remaining rain forest in Brazil would maintain the home and livelihoods of the people that have depended on the Amazon for so many years. It could also greatly lessen the use of incredibly biologically rich lands for livestock (accounting for upwards of 20% of global carbon emissions) and biofuel production (largely going to Western industry and automobiles), which only serve to create further greenhouse gases emissions through methane release and lost carbon uptake from the destruction of forests.
This commitment from Brazil sends a strong message to the international community that global nations from across the economic spectrum can come together to work for a tough and fair climate change treaty. As countries such as China, India, and Brazil grow ever faster, and the demand for energy continues to rise, it is thought that most emission increases will come from these nations over the next several decades. Thusly, moves towards prevention of greenhouse gas emissions in these nations are essential to any effective post- Kyoto climate treaty. But those countries in the Global North, which are responsible for the majority of carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution, have a responsibility to quickly mitigate their own fossil fuel output drastically and provide financial and technical assistance to those nations who will be most dramatically affected by global warming’s consequences.
Human-powered global warming will (and is) affecting every human and organism on the planet. Efforts like Brazil’s deforestation plan- albeit just one piece of the puzzle- show that the world’s nations can, and will have to, work in unity to maintain a livable Earth for all creatures.
-Josh
