Forests Should Be Front and Center in Lima #COP20, Part II

So, how is it that utility companies in Europe can get away with claiming offsets without having to verify and validate those claims? Why are they not held to the same globally-recognized set of standards as everyone else? Why do they get to take credit today for an offset that is not likely to accrue for decades into the future, if it even happens at all? Where is the legally-binding agreement to keep the carbon stored in the forest for 100+ years? And, perhaps most disturbing of all, how are the utility companies taking credit for (and reaping the value of) the carbon stored in someone else’s forests without paying the forest owners? This double standard is beyond troublesome.

Forests Should Be Front and Center in Lima #COP20

The longer forests are allowed to grow, the greater the climate benefit. This basic biological fact has given rise to a number of international programs and policies designed to encourage the protection of forests as carbon sinks. In fact, the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, of which many European nations are signatories, has developed a variety of tools and policy frameworks to encourage greater forest conservation.

Youth Activist Cole Rasenberger on Partnership with Dogwood

Recently, I was fortunate to be asked to speak in a live panel interview at the ASTC world conference about my youth activist experiences. ASTC has been around for 40 years. Everyone I met was highly educated especially in science. I was very nervous, but it was incredible to share my experiences with others and to learn from others too. I spoke at Raleigh, NC Science museum. Everyone was so thoughtful and interested in saving our planet in one way or another. It was inspiring! I learned if you truly believe in something, speak out so others hear you and get inspired to help save our planet too.