Brazil's forest offer a 'good signal'
Brazil's forest offer 'good signal', says Foreign Secretary
Brazil's voluntary offer to reduce deforestation in the country's Amazon rainforest by 80% is a good example for other countries ahead of next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen, Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Latin American journalists.
'The scale of the voluntary commitments is a good example for other countries to follow,' he said during a roundtable of London-based correspondents from South American media organizations on 16 November.
'That is a good signal to many other countries that now it is time to get serious. Many countries will look to Brazil for the nod and the confirmation of whether or not what is on the table in respect of deforestation is appropriate and sufficient.'
On 13 November the Brazilian government announced its commitment to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1-38.9% from the projected 2020 levels. It said that half of this would come for its deforestation promise.
Asked whether he thought Brazil's action was enough, Mr Miliband said he wanted to look at the detail of the proposals and acknowledged that many people made their living out of deforestation.
'We are talking about reversing a disastrous trend in deforestation and it is important that we understand not just the dangers associated with deforestation but the complexity of turning things around. But it is certainly good to have the issues put on the table and I would look in detail at how the funding flows ensure that action really is translated from words on paper into change on the ground.'
He said that Brazil had a lot of teach the rest of the world about forest management and about stewarding forecasts rather than cutting them down. 'We have to make sure that experience is harnessed by the international community,' he said.
Energy and Climate Minister Joan Ruddock is in Indonesia discussing forests and climate change. Earlier this year, Climate and Energy Secretary of State Ed Miliband visited Brazil to discuss climate change and deforestation.
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