Environmentalists Put BC's Forests on the Map at Bali Climate Talks
Document distributed to international delegates and members of BC's Climate Action Team shows BC's forests important part of world's climate change efforts; Environmentalists request meeting with Premier's Climate Action Team to ensure forest protection is part of BC’s climate change strategy
BALI, INDONESIA – Environmentalists are putting BC's forests on the map at international climate talks in Bali. Veteran BC environmentalist Tzeporah Berman of ForestEthics is hand-delivering a policy brief to delegates in Bali that quantifies the carbon stored in BC's old growth forests and reveals the connection between current deforestation levels and a net loss in the province's ability to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
Aimed at policy makers at home and abroad, including the premier's own Climate Action Team, the brief recommends large scale conservation of BC's intact old-growth forests and inclusion of the full life cycle impacts of logging in any new provincial emissions reduction plan.
“BC's forests store an estimated 18 billion tonnes of carbon, and are home to some of Canada's best-known species," says Berman. "Unfortunately, annual logging in British Columbia releases 51.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, more than half that released by all light-duty cars, trucks and motorcycles every year in Canada (96 million tonnes).”
Central to Berman's contention are recent warnings that the international community must slash emissions by 80% by 2050 to avoid irreparable climate change. She sees BC's forests as playing an important role in achieving those reductions and is asking the government's Climate Action Team for a meeting to ensure forest protection is part of any new emissions reduction plan.
“The international community needs to hold British Columbia and Canada to account when it comes to making one of the simplest and most powerful contributions to the fight against global warming: protecting old-growth forests.”
Forests are on the agenda at this year’s international conference and a day will be given to discussions aimed at developing new forest rules. Berman will be delivering her message on the Forests/Climate connection as part of a symposium being held tomorrow in Bali.
Read our report on BC's forests and their role in climate change mitigation.
