December 6, 2007

US Slashes Funding to Save Rainforest During UN Talks

MEDIA ALERT- Uncle Sam To Knock Down Towering Trees at 1:30pm local time.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Bali, Indonesia. December 6, 2007, 9:00 am local time

UN diplomats in Bali Indonesia have begun negotiations on a new aggressive climate change policy framework. One key topic being discussed is how to create incentives for developing countries to conserve their tropical forests. As 20% of global greenhouse gases, tropical deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change and the leading cause of species extinctions.
Most countries have come to the UN talks to declare new financial support for tropical forests. The World Bank at the request of the G8, is creating a new fund to help developing countries reduce emissions by saving forests. Australia, which a few days ago ratified the Kyoto Protocol, has committed $200 million Australian in new monies for tropical forests. Meanwhile, the United States is poised to dramatically decrease money for tropical forests.

The US Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) is the largest US pot of money exclusively for helping developing countries conserve threatened tropical forests. The Treasury Department, which administers the TFCA, implausibly cannot find enough trees to help, even though 30 million acres are destroyed each year. The TFCA, which expires at the end of 2007, is due to be re-authorized in the next few weeks. At the behest of the Treasury Department, US House of Representatives passed HR 2185 in October to expand the TFCA’s mandate to conserve coral reefs. Which would be great, except the bill contains the smallest congressional authorization ($20 million) for saving tropical forests in the entire history of the TFCA. In previous years, congress authorized up to $100 million per year. The amount of environmental finance is smaller, and now tropical forests and coral reefs will “compete” for limited funds, suggesting tropical forest funding could be as low as $10 million. That equals just $0.03 (3 US pennies) per American to combat our planet’s most serious ecological crisis.
 “Saving tropical forests is the most important and immediate solution to combat climate change. The rest of the world gets it. The US, already sidelined by its refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, continues its slide into obscurity” said Jeff Metcalfe, director of the Tropical Forest Group. “Saving rainforests is something nearly every American supports. If the Senate passes this bill (Senate Bill 2020) –scheduled for a vote any day – it will turn America’s back to international diplomacy, climate change, and the environment”. .

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http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1206-forests_us.html