SAN FRANCISCO, July 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the California Air Resources Board prepares to consider moving forward on international initiatives to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation & Forest Degradation (REDD+) within the state's climate policy, a large consortium of key stakeholders – from multinational corporations to global NGOs and indigenous community leaders – have rallied in support of REDD+.
Signatories of the Code REDD Letter of Support include leading organizations such as Disney, Pacific Gas & Electric, Skoll Foundation, the Rainforest Alliance, and indigenous forest communities including the Surui. The letter and full list of supporters are available at: http://www.coderedd.org/letter-of-support/. The Climate Markets & Investment Association's Letter of Support is available at: www.cmia.net/Portals/0/CMIA_REDD.pdf. CMIA's membership includes many of the world's largest providers of low-carbon investment and services, such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Norton Rose Fulbright, PwC, JP Morgan, and KPMG.
"Land-use and forestry are a major part of the climate mitigation challenge. REDD+ is a key and essential part of the solution to the cost effective mitigation of climate change and as such must not be overlooked." - Anthony Hobley, President, CMIA & Partner, Global Head, Sustainability and Climate Change - Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Forests are disappearing at the alarming rate of 13 million hectares per year, accounting for an estimated 15% of total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change experts largely agree that climate stability cannot be achieved without the conservation of the world's remaining forests. REDD+ is one of the best available solutions to this complex challenge.
The independent REDD Offsets Working Group has recommended a pathway for jurisdictional REDD+ to become an approved offset protocol within California's climate regulations. If approved, regulated entities would be allowed to meet up to 2% of their compliance obligations through approved jurisdictional REDD+ offsets until 2018, and up to 4% thereafter. These limitations ensure that regulated entities continue to cut emissions at source while also acknowledging the importance of tropical forests and sustainable land use within climate change policy.
About Code REDD
Code REDD is a nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose mission is to support & scale the REDD+ mechanism to realize its full potential to empower people, preserve forests, reduce emissions, and protect wildlife.
About The Climate Markets and Investment Association (CMIA)
CMIA is an international trade association representing more than 40 leading companies that finance, invest in, and provide enabling support to projects and activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CMIA solely represents organizations that provide services to and invest in the environmental sector.