As COP26 looms and tropical deforestation soars, REDD+ debate roars on
by on 15 April 2021
The United Nations REDD+ program (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) has been operating for more than 13 years as a multipurpose initiative, intended to curb deforestation in tropical nations, sequester forest carbon, combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and aid poor rural communities.
The REDD+ mechanism is largely paid for by wealthy industrialized countries contributing funds to less developed tropical nations, including those in the Amazon, Congo Basin and Indonesia.
Some 600 REDD+ projects have been initiated to date (with some 400 still active), mostly implemented by socioenvironmental NGOs or for-profit project developers, and financed by more than $10 billion in donor funds in more than 65 countries. But evidence of avoided deforestation and reduced carbon emissions is controversial.
UPDATE 1-U S seeks to polish tarnished reputation with new climate change pledges
msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
US special envoy flying to China, S Korea for climate change talks-547270
daily-sun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from daily-sun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Patrick Goodenough | April 13, 2021 | 1:55am EDT
Then-Secretary of State John Kerry and China’s climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua, right, at the talks that produced the Paris climate accord in December 2015. (Photo by Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)
(Update: The State Department on Tuesday confirmed that John Kerry will travel to Shanghai, China, and Seoul, South Korea from Wednesday to Saturday.)
(CNSNews.com) – Climate envoy John Kerry will become the first senior Biden administration official to visit China, the country whose relationship with the U.S. has been described as the most consequential in the world.
State media outlets in China responded to the prospect of a visit with cautious optimism, characterizing Kerry as a known entity, and a “veteran diplomat who values face-to-face personal diplomacy to reach consensus.”