UK: £100 million to save other nation’s forests while their own vanish?

Funding of £100 million is being committed to tackling the role of
cutting down forests in climate change, the Government has announced.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said almost a fifth of
emissions were caused by deforestation and changes to how land was
used. Deforestation is a major source of emissions from developing
countries. Mr Miliband said the funding would be used to help
rainforest countries develop and improve their infrastructure without
damaging their forests. It will support initiatives such as finding
ways to enable farmers to make a living without cutting down trees. Mr
Miliband is currently attending the latest round of UN talks on
achieving a new global deal on cutting the greenhouse gases which
cause climate change, in Poznan, Poland.

He said: “Protecting and replenishing the planet’s forests is essential to tackling climate
change… developed and developing countries have come together to
chart a way forward so that we can tackle climate change and make
lives better for people who live in forest communities. “And this
agreement embodies the spirit of co-operation we need with everyone
accepting they have a part to play in tackling climate change,
including the need for finance.” International Development Secretary
Douglas Alexander said climate change would hit the world’s poor
hardest. “Protecting the forests in developing countries is vital in
cutting carbon emissions but this must be done hand in hand with
ensuring communities can still feed themselves and earn a living.” The
UK Government has already committed £60 million to measures to help
conserve the Congo Basin rainforest – the second largest tropical
rainforest in the world – and £15 million to a World Bank
demonstration scheme on preserving forests. Delegates from around the
world are engaged in talks in Poznan as part of the UN process which
is hoped to lead to a new agreement on climate change next year in
Copenhagen. http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/article.aspx?cp-documentid=11801436

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