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Clinton, Obama botch opportunity on climate, forest conservation

The Obama administration squandered a chance this week to show U.S. leadership on climate and forest conservation issues, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Jakarta, failed to bring up a new Indonesian government decree allowing conversion of carbon-rich peat forests to oil-palm plantations.



Scientists say the decree, which apparently met the approval of Indonesia’s Ministry of the Environment on Wednesday, will result in massive greenhouse gas emissions from the degradation and destruction of peatland ecosystems, which in some years can be the source of up to 8 percent of global CO2 emissions. Draining peat soils to a depth of 60-80 cm as allowed under the decree will release 60-75 tons of carbon per hectare per year, according to Alex Kaat of Wetlands International. Some 2 million hectares of peatlands across Indonesia qualify for conversion, indicating that if fully converted, the decree could result in annual emissions 120-150 million tons of CO2 — the equivalent of adding another Netherlands or Pakistan. Planting the land with oil palm will make only a small dent in the carbon deficit since plantations sequester far less carbon than natural forests. Dr. Susan Page of the University of Leicester estimates that one ton of palm oil produced on peatland results in 15 to 70 tons of emissions over the 25-year lifecycle of a plantation.






Healthy forest and recently cleared forest adjacent to Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Photos Rhett Butler

At this point it is still unclear whether the decree is meant to actually boost palm oil production and appease political interests ahead of elections or simply a ruse to increase Indonesia’s potential earnings under a carbon finance mechanism that rewards countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (to “reduce emissions” a forest needs to be imminently threatened — i.e. concessioned). Regardless, the Obama administration, with the President’s popularity in Indonesia, missed a golden opportunity to show the U.S. is serious about its commitment to addressing climate change.



The United States and Indonesia are respectively the second and third largest greenhouse gas emitters. More than 80 percent of Indonesia’s emissions result from deforestation and destruction of peatlands rather than the burning of fossil fuels.








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(02/19/2009)
Indonesia’s Minister for the Environment has approved a decree that will allow the conversion of carbon-rich peatlands for oil palm plantations, reports The Jakarta Post.

New model uses carbon credits, sustainable palm oil to save Indonesia’s rainforests
(02/05/2009)
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Palm oil may be single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species
(01/26/2009)
Efforts to slow the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of natural forests across Southeast Asia are being hindered by industry-sponsored disinformation campaigns, argue scientists writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. The authors, Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove, say that palm oil may constitute the “single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species” by driving the conversion of biologically rich ecosystems — including lowland rainforests and peatlands.

Degraded grasslands better option for palm oil production relative to rainforests, finds study
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Producing biofuels from oil palm plantations established on degraded grasslands rather than tropical rainforests and peat lands would result in a net removal of carbon from the atmosphere rather than greenhouse gas emissions, report researchers writing in Conservation Biology. The results confirm that benefits to climate from biofuel production depend greatly on the type of land used for feedstocks.

Oil palm expansion in Indonesian Borneo increased 400-fold from 1991-2007
(10/30/2008)
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(09/15/2008)
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(08/27/2008)
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(05/20/2008)
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Unilever calls for ban on rainforest destruction for palm oil
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Is the oil-palm industry using global warming to mislead the public?
(11/23/2007)
Members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission are distributing materials that misrepresent the carbon balance of oil-palm plantations, according to accounts from people who have seen presentations by commission members. These officials are apparently arguing that oil-palm plantations store and sequester many times the amount of CO2 as natural forests, and therefore that converting forests for plantations is the best way to fight climate change. In making such claims, these Indonesian representatives evidently are ignoring data that show the opposite, putting the credibility of the oil-palm industry at risk, and undermining efforts to slow deforestation and rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmentalists and palm oil producers should work together
(09/25/2007)
Environmentalists and palm-oil producers are increasingly at odds. Greens groups say palm oil is driving the conversion of tens of thousands of hectares of peatlands and lowland forest in Indonesia, putting wildlife at risk, increasing the vulnerability of forests to fires, and triggering large emissions of greenhouse gases.

Indonesia’s peatlands may offer U.S. firms global warming offsets
(08/29/2007)
The following is modified version of a letter I’ve used to pitch U.S. companies on the concept of carbon finance in Indonesia’s peatlands. Discussions are slow and the critical December U.N. climate meeting is fast approaching, so I’m posting this as a tool to help you get American firms interested in avoided deforestation offsets. Please feel free to use, modify, and distribute this letter widely.

Is peat swamp worth more than palm oil plantations?
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Dutch plan restricts biofuels that damage environment
(04/29/2007)
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(04/03/2007)
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