Under the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) scheme, qualifying developing nations would be issuing carbon credits. Rich nations buy these credits to offset their emissions at home. This could yield billions of euros for poorer nations. At the same time, CO2 emissions from deforestation would diminish and the forest would continue soaking up CO2.

World map for deforestation

According to Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, developed countries and forested countries agreed to formulate a world map as part of the cooperation. This would involve not just governments, but also institutions like universities and research bodies. The Bali delegates have agreed to encourage individual countries to run a series of projects to help them prepare for REDD.

The World Bank has already launched plans for a €190 million fund for forest preservation, which includes a €63 million ‘readiness’ fund to prepare around 20 countries for large-scale protection schemes. Projects include surveys of current forest assets, monitoring systems and tightening governance. A second €126 million ‘carbon finance mechanism’ will allow some countries to run pilot programmes earning credits.

Deals on technology sharing, adaptation fund

Earlier this week, negotiators agreed a deal in principle to share technology, such as wind turbines or solar panels, to help developing nations. There was also agreement on the establishment of a €22.7 million adaptation fund to help poorer nations cope with climate change. The UN anticipates this could rise to €0.6 to €3 billion a year by 2030.

EU threatens to boycott US climate talks

In contrast to all these deals, the stalemate concerning firm guidelines for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions continues. The United States, Canada and Japan remain allergic to “figures”, like a 25-40% cut in emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2020. “I don’t know how you can navigate around this enormous elephant in the room,” former US Vice President Al Gore remarked. Gore urged governments to forge a “new path” towards a global climate change agreement, in spite of an “obstructive” United States. In an attempt to put pressure on the US, the European Union threatened to boycott the Mayor Economies Meeting (MEM) of 17 top greenhouse gas emitting nations, which the US wants to organise in Hawaii in late January. According to the EU, this meeting would be “meaningless” if Bali would fail. A White House spokeswoman called this attitude “not very constructive”. In a new text Washington submitted on Thursday, it stressed voluntary reduction goals rather than binding caps.