CAN Intervention: ADP Technical Expert Meeting on Land Use at SB40s, 11 June, 2014

STATEMENT BY CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK

Technical Expert Meeting on Opportunities for Action on Land Use, 11 June 2014

Work stream 2 provides an opportunity to quickly ramp-up reducing emissions from high carbon landscapes like forests, peatlands, mangroves, and other wetlands. Once these ecosystems are destroyed, or severely degraded, most of their emissions reductions potential has been lost. Polices and measures to conserve these ecosystems promote biodiversity, secure the livelihoods of local communities, and maintain resilience. One of the ways to achieve this is to prioritize REDD+ as an immediate action to fund before 2020.

The inclusion of agriculture in discussions about mitigation has its own challenges that are additional to those of forests. There must be careful consideration of food security needs and impacts on land rights, particularly for developing countries. Furthermore, sequestration of carbon in mineral soils is easily subject to reversals. 

Under ADP discussions on land use, permanent emission reductions could, however, focus on cuts in greenhouse gases such as methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from synthetic fertilisers, in countries where emissions are highest.

Land use under both work streams of the ADP should follow a rights-based approach.

Finally, we urge you to read the CAN submission on principles for accounting under the ADP.