COP21 Paris Agreement focuses on forests but equity in climate action must be addressed

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation are key to many national climate plans - in light of these commitments, securing the rights of local communities to their forests is critical to the successful implementation of these climate plans.

Bangkok, Thailand – COP21 in Paris has culminated with the adoption of an historic agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement aims to keep temperature rise below 2°C, and to achieve net-zero emissions by the second half of this century. Despite the strides made with the agreement, “the real work has just begun to ensure that climate action fosters equity at all levels, and strengthens the rights of local and indigenous forest-dependent communities -- without this the Agreement cannot succeed,” said RECOFTC Executive Director, Dr. Tint Lwin Thaung. 

The Paris Agreement is increasing the world’s focus on forests as a tool for climate mitigation and adaptation. At the heart of the agreement are nationally determined climate plans, which were submitted prior to the COP, and will be revisited every five years in order to increase their ambition. Already, the centrality of forests within the first round of plans is clear -- at least 39 countries included reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in their proposed efforts. In addition, the Agreement outlines the need for large scale climate finance -- at least $100 billion a year by 2020 and even more beginning in 2025 -- which will in part be channeled towards the forestry and land use sector.

Language acknowledging the importance of forests in greenhouse gas emissions reduction can be found throughout the Agreement text. Article 5, specifically, notes that Parties should conserve and enhance sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, including forests, and encourages Parties to implement and support activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This is particularly relevant for much of the Asia and the Pacific region, given that 25% of global carbon is stored in tropical forests, thus the preservation and restoration of these forests is critical to keep temperature rise below 2°C.

In light of these commitments, securing the rights of local communities to their forests is critical. Communities that have contributed little to global emissions now stand at the center of policy mechanisms for emission reduction, which places them increasingly at risk of dispossession and exploitation, especially in the Asia and the Pacific region where tenure and rights for local communities are often very weak. If the Paris Agreement is to succeed, both in its emission reduction and livelihood objectives, the notion of equity must guide all facets of future climate action.

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