January 2010

TREES are one of the most efficient systems of carbon capture and storage on the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, locking the carbon into their roots, trunk, branches, twigs and leaves and the soil. They are so good at this that about 20% of the greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere can be attributed to deforestation. In the run-up to the climate talks in Copenhagen in December, bright minds around the world are negotiating a formal scheme for reducing the loss of trees as a way of lowering the world’s carbon emissions.

The future of the growing project-based forest carbon sector has been clouded by the two climate and energy bills in the US Congress. The bills, one passed in the House last June, the other being drafted in the Senate, both make provision for large use of international forest carbon offsets as a cornerstone of emissions reduction efforts.

Windhoek — Growing demand for products like timber and biofuels is putting pressure on shrinking rainforests.

The huge black-liquor subsidy of pulp mills expired last week, but that isn’t stopping the U.S. forest-products industry from tapping taxpayers' money in other ways.