Developing countries will now benefit financially for their efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This was resolved during the 19th UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) held in Warsaw Poland, November 22, 2013.
Delegates adopted the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ which creates a performance-based financing mechanisms to compensate countries that prove they have reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, potential beneficiaries will be required to provide information indicating how they have addressed the safeguards on carbon emissions before they can be paid for their efforts.
The financial mechanism will be managed under the BioCarbon fund, a World Bank program that manages forest and agricultural-based carbon emissions.
Potential beneficiaries will be required to adhere to stringent rules for monitoring and reporting their activities. At the initial stages, countries expecting to benefit from the Warsaw Framework will be required to post summaries of their carbon emission reduction initiatives on their national communication or communication channels and also UNFCCC web platform which will have a portal containing the results and payments for each country. In addition, participating countries will be required to document lessons learned during implementation of such activities and use it as basis for improvement.
Apart from the financial component, the Framework lays emphasis on conservation and sustainable management of forests in developing countries. It sets out clear mechanisms for financially supporting all aspects of REDD: readiness, training, capacity-building, and preparatory activities for full implementation of the initiative.
To set the ball rolling, the delegates agreed on the following action plan:
Specify the drivers of deforestation;
Put in place an effective monitoring, reporting and verification system to measure carbon emissions reductions from forests;
Establish a national forest monitoring system;
Generate baseline data for countries to measure and evaluate their performance on the reduction of carbon emissions;
Ensure those who benefit from the provisions in the framework adhere to environmental safeguards and respect human rights.
The United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom jointly pledged $280 million to support the BioCarbon Fund. However, more funds are still required to support the program.
For more information see:
http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/cop-19-adopts-warsaw-framework-for-redd/225390/
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/redd-funding-announcement-0385.html
http://blog.cifor.org/20524/landscapes-approach-dovetails-with-redd-scientist-says#.UqhKdScS2dw