Wetlands To Fight Climate Change: Study
Date: 04-Sep-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Madeline Chambers
BERLIN - Governments can help combat climate change by investing more in natural areas, including forests and mangroves, a European study said on Wednesday.
The paper pointed out that nations have natural assets worth trillions of dollars which could help fight global warming and save investment in industrial schemes for carbon capture.
"Natural systems represent one of the biggest untapped allies against the greatest challenge of this generation," said The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, part of a global project, to be published next year.
Launched by Germany and the European Commission, the report is examining the economics of biodiversity loss.
An investment of $45 billion in protected areas could save nature-based services worth $4.5-$5.2 trillion a year, more than the value of the car, steel and information technology sectors, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.
Scientists say preserving nature is crucial in fighting climate change but warn extinctions are speeding up due to human activity. Extinction rates are at 1,000 times their natural pace and three species vanish every hour, research shows.
The study highlighted the role of forests in naturally mitigating CO2 emissions as they absorb an estimated 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions every year.
Agreeing on funding to save forests must be a priority for governments at December's global talks in Copenhagen to try to agree on a successor to the Kyoto protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, said the authors of the report.
"To target the removal of carbon dioxide, the best mechanism we have is in nature. In tropical forests we have both an opportunity and a solution to the significant challenges we face," study leader Pavan Sukhdev told reporters.
The report highlighted the dangers facing coral reefs which have risen due to a build up of greenhouse gases. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are already irreversibly damaging coral reefs and their extinction would jeopardize the livelihoods of millions of people, said the study.
Coral reefs, which protect coastlines from the effects of global warming and are essential for some kinds of fish, are worth up to $170 billion a year, said the study.
"An estimated half a billion people depend on them for livelihoods and more than a quarter of marine fish species are dependent on coral reefs," said Sukhdev.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the U.N. Environment Programme said billions of dollars of government investment in power station carbon capture schemes may not be the full answer.
"Perhaps it is time to subject this to a full cost benefit analysis to see whether the technological option matches nature's ability to capture and store carbon," he said.
(Editing by Janet Lawrence)
