You know that saving trees can help save the earth, but did you know that it can also help you pay your bills? REDD, short for reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, is an upcoming policy the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) has proposed to help save the environment.
The UN REDD program gives credits that can be converted into money directly from UN funding when landowners keep their forests and manage them instead of cutting down trees. It simply means that the UN tells forest owners, “we'll give you money for preserving your forests.”
Deforestation and forest degradation together are responsible for about 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is the leading man-made cause of global warming. Thus, REDD is now recognized as a vital component of a comprehensive solution to the climate change problem, and under international law, this solution was too good to pass up.
You might be familiar with the term, “carbon trading.” Carbon emissions trading was a market based approach that targets carbon dioxide. Polluters who need to increase their emissions can only do so by buying emission rights from others that use less than their permitted amount. Saving forests generates carbon credits, which can be counted towards emission-cutting targets. Payments for ecosystem services are already well established as a governance tool in the global green market. What is new with REDD is that payments will be made on a massive scale for potentially almost every forest and will be made available on a long-term basis with very stringent monitoring and verification.
While the previous carbon credits relied solely on market trade, REDD credits rely on both market and non-market financing. In the Copenhagen Accord of 2009, the participants agreed to build a “Green Climate Fund” where developed countries would raise funds of $30 billion between 2010-2012 from new and additional resources and a further goal set for the world to raise $100 billion per year by the year 2020. About $200 million has been already pledged by several developed countries to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the main plank of REDD.
Several billions are expected to flow into REDD from other rich government sources within the next few years, in recognition that preserving existing forests is one of the cheapest ways of staving off climate change. South Korea also participated in this trend with a fairly large amount, and the rates of funding can be checked real-time in the UNDP (UN development group) UN-REDD Program Fund Web page. Across the world, including South Korea, there are many examples of effective carbon trading mechanisms to regulate pollutants.
The REDD monitoring institution, Accra Caucus (Accra Caucus on Forests and Climate Change) says three things need to be considered for the new REDD+ system to succeed.
1. Efficient participation of local residents in the REDD project.
2. Giving REDD emission rights to forest owners.
3. Managing the forests in a way that the residents can continuously use it.
Buying a REDD credit instead of a car or property may seem reckless, but so was the first attempt to fly by the Wright brothers — even they wouldn't have known that in 2011 that there would be airports in major cities all over the world. With the spreading worldwide trend of going “Green,” and with international legislation and policies catching up to this public sentiment, the business environment will become more conducive for investment in Carbon Trading. In just a few years, rather than a house or vineyard, a REDD credit might be a smart green idea for a pension plan.
All around this beautiful island of Jeju, it is clear that new business investments have been overlooked until now. This kind of carbon trading business can make Jeju a lone pioneer for Korea to supply heavy-polluting businesses and other developed countries with the overseas carbon offsets they will need to meet their greenhouse gas cuts back home.
Danbi Um is a graduate student at Jeju National University Law School and a legal counselor at the JNU’s Legal Clinic.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is not intended to be legal advice. As a service to the non-Korean community, the Jeju National University Legal Clinic (064-754-2989) is available for consultations during regular business hours, Monday to Friday. <Jeju Weekly>
<Danbi Um contributor@jejuweekly.comⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
