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New Theoretical Developments and Empirical Findings
April 2020 – Springer recently launched an interdisciplinary book series, under the umbrella Springer Climate, dedicated to climate research throughout the planet. The publication “Ancillary Benefits of Climate Policy”, launched this April, dedicates a chapter to talking about the positive impact of the Brazilian REDD+ market on forest protection. Pedro Moura Costa, EcoSecurities co-founder, was a lead author of the chapter, with input from other professionals involved in REDD+ initiatives in Brazil.
"This book is a valuable contribution to [climate policy] efforts. It provides a realistic overview of the ancillary benefits(or co-benefits) of climate protection: the positive “side effects” of climate policy beyond their immediate chain of effects (lower greenhouse gas emissions—less climate change—less damage to the climate). In the heat of political discourse, these effects are often used as a pretext for careless, even false promises: transforming our energy system will bring about better jobs, greener parks, cleaner air, greater democracy, and so on. Such hollow words are easily debunked by opponents of climate protection and ultimately contribute little to the cause. The following selection of research papers by authors from four continents provides a scientific assessment of these co-benefits. Their findings establish a solid basis for convincing arguments, which may well encourage policymakers to dare take ambitious action." – Ottmar Edenhofer, MCC
Financing Forest Protection with Integrated REDD+ Markets in Brazil
The chapter recognises that in recent years Brazil has achieved a great degree of reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to successful forest management policies that have reduced the deforestation rate by 75% since 2002. It points out that REDD+ practices, such as forest monitoring and relocation, are significant for this advance. The study shows that the effects of investments that prevent deforestation in the Amazon, when properly applied, play an important role both in the conservation of biodiversity, and in other aspects, such as the distribution of rainfall across South America, and the positive social impact for communities that depend on the forest for subsistence. The chapter extends the analysis of a proposal of an Integrated REDD+ approach to fit into Brazil’s REDD strategies that was initially presented in Costa et al. (2017).
As a conclusion, the chapter highlights that given its importance in terms of contribution to GHG emissions, the land use sector must be able to secure financial resources in a large scale to ensure its sustainability and transition to a low-carbon dynamic. The urgency in talking about GHG emission mitigation and avoiding climate change requires a concerted and integrated effort involving all sectors of the economy. Ancillary benefits are enormous when forest protection contributes in the combat of global warming. The unique biodiversity of tropical forests, as is the case of the Amazon Forest, carries non-use value to the entire world.
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