Mindanao Conference on Climate Change
Sowing the seeds for a coordinated Mindanao response to climate change
Is Carbon Trading Necessary?
by: Cathy Henkel
Director, The Burning Season
It is my view that carbon trading is an inevitable and necessary tool for tackling climate change. Without a cap and trade mechanism, we will simply not meet the targets that scientific evidence shows are required for reducing carbon emissions. It may not be a perfect method of doing this, but it is inevitable. Particularly in the short term, as a way of ‘buying time’ for the planet and especially the forests, until more long-term, radical solutions are found. So criticism of the concept should be viewed in this light.
I think it is also fair to ask who is fueling the criticism of carbon trading? Is it coming from industrialized companies and big polluters who want to avoid paying for their pollution? Is it the oil and transport lobby who fear the cost to their business and profit margins? Is it the skeptics who doubt climate change? Is it those who don't want to pay the price for cleaning up our planet? Is it those who care more about money and lifestyle than the state of the planet they are handing over to the next generation?
Despite this, “The Burning Season” does address the issue carbon trading in a number of ways. Conservationist, Patrick Anderson outlines the main criticisms. At almost every meeting that Dorjee attends in the middle part of the film, someone raises a problem or obstacle to his scheme. Achmadi's entire story-line raises the challenges and improbability of getting the money from carbon trading down to the village level. Carbon trading and the obstacles to including forests in future climate agreements are at the heart of the Bali UN Conference scenes.
Two common criticisms of carbon trading are expounded; either it’s seen as a “scam” or as a way for the industrial countries “to buy time". Both have validity. There have been a number of carbon trading scams, mainly associated with tree planting. To date, without a fixed price on carbon and without formalized cap and trade mechanisms, most carbon trading schemes are flawed or token. Some schemes are well intentioned and undertaken mainly to show a commitment to the concept of pricing carbon emissions. Others have been cynical attempts by big companies at ‘green dressing’ while they continue polluting. However, even these have a positive aspect, as they at least start the process of putting a price on emissions.
Audiences are entitled to ask themselves, throughout this film, whether they think what Dorjee and the Governors are doing is a scam or not? They can judge for themselves from the characters in action, and the claims they make. The film does not preclude this possibility, nor does it propose it.
The second criticism is that industrialised countries are “buying time”. This is almost certainly true. Patrick Anderson and two of the characters at the Bali conference raise this issue. There is nothing in the film that says this is a good or a bad thing: buying time in this crisis is probably necessary and inevitable. Audiences will ask themselves whether this criticism applies to Dorjee's scheme or not, and whether it outweighs the value of stopping the destruction of millions of hectares of forest.
Dorjee Sun, the lead character of the documentary Burning Season wrote in his Facebook wall:
Here's a documentary how carbon trading results to a community mitigation project in a third world country. The documentary will also be shown in the conference. This film gives an introduction to Global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. It shows how one NGO in Karnataka is trading reduced carbon emissions to fund a biogas project, substituting firewood used by villagers.
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Director, The Burning Season
It is my view that carbon trading is an inevitable and necessary tool for tackling climate change. Without a cap and trade mechanism, we will simply not meet the targets that scientific evidence shows are required for reducing carbon emissions. It may not be a perfect method of doing this, but it is inevitable. Particularly in the short term, as a way of ‘buying time’ for the planet and especially the forests, until more long-term, radical solutions are found. So criticism of the concept should be viewed in this light.
I think it is also fair to ask who is fueling the criticism of carbon trading? Is it coming from industrialized companies and big polluters who want to avoid paying for their pollution? Is it the oil and transport lobby who fear the cost to their business and profit margins? Is it the skeptics who doubt climate change? Is it those who don't want to pay the price for cleaning up our planet? Is it those who care more about money and lifestyle than the state of the planet they are handing over to the next generation?
Despite this, “The Burning Season” does address the issue carbon trading in a number of ways. Conservationist, Patrick Anderson outlines the main criticisms. At almost every meeting that Dorjee attends in the middle part of the film, someone raises a problem or obstacle to his scheme. Achmadi's entire story-line raises the challenges and improbability of getting the money from carbon trading down to the village level. Carbon trading and the obstacles to including forests in future climate agreements are at the heart of the Bali UN Conference scenes.
Two common criticisms of carbon trading are expounded; either it’s seen as a “scam” or as a way for the industrial countries “to buy time". Both have validity. There have been a number of carbon trading scams, mainly associated with tree planting. To date, without a fixed price on carbon and without formalized cap and trade mechanisms, most carbon trading schemes are flawed or token. Some schemes are well intentioned and undertaken mainly to show a commitment to the concept of pricing carbon emissions. Others have been cynical attempts by big companies at ‘green dressing’ while they continue polluting. However, even these have a positive aspect, as they at least start the process of putting a price on emissions.
Audiences are entitled to ask themselves, throughout this film, whether they think what Dorjee and the Governors are doing is a scam or not? They can judge for themselves from the characters in action, and the claims they make. The film does not preclude this possibility, nor does it propose it.
The second criticism is that industrialised countries are “buying time”. This is almost certainly true. Patrick Anderson and two of the characters at the Bali conference raise this issue. There is nothing in the film that says this is a good or a bad thing: buying time in this crisis is probably necessary and inevitable. Audiences will ask themselves whether this criticism applies to Dorjee's scheme or not, and whether it outweighs the value of stopping the destruction of millions of hectares of forest.
Dorjee Sun, the lead character of the documentary Burning Season wrote in his Facebook wall:
"Pessimists are often right. But only optimists change the world."
Here's a documentary how carbon trading results to a community mitigation project in a third world country. The documentary will also be shown in the conference. This film gives an introduction to Global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. It shows how one NGO in Karnataka is trading reduced carbon emissions to fund a biogas project, substituting firewood used by villagers.
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Add a Comment
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Comment by Alex Casiple on May 23, 2009 at 4:22am - I believe so, Bong. I look forward that the Karnataka example (video doc above) will be replicated in rural communities here in Mindanao. Hopefully, one of the conference resource person from the World Bank Community Carbon Fund will show us how.
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Comment by Warlito.Vicente.Jr on May 22, 2009 at 6:43pm -
Alex,
There' corporate adage that goes, you can't manage what you can't measure. so, yes, carbon trading is necessary.
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