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Tropical Deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol

  • An Editorial Essay
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Abstract

The current annual rates of tropical deforestation from Brazil and Indonesia alone would equal four-fifths of the emissions reductions gained by implementing the Kyoto Protocol in its first commitment period, jeopardizing the goal of Protocol to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference” with the climate system. We propose the novel concept of “compensated reduction”, whereby countries that elect to reduce national level deforestation to below a previously determined historical level would receive post facto compensation, and commit to stabilize or further reduce deforestation in the future. Such a program could create large-scale incentives to reduce tropical deforestation, as well as for broader developing country participation in the Kyoto Protocol, and leverage support for the continuity of the Protocol beyond the 2008–2012 first commitment period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Socioambiental – ISA., SCLN 210, Bloco. C, sala 112, 70862-530, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Márcio Santilli

  2. Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia – IPAM. Av Nazaré, 669, 66035-170, Belém, PA, Brazil

    Márcio Santilli, Paulo Moutinho & Daniel Nepstad

  3. Environmental Defense, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20009, U.S.A.

    Stephan Schwartzman

  4. Woods Hole Research Center, P.O. Box 296, 13 Church Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543-0296, U.S.A.

    Daniel Nepstad

  5. Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 205 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, 06511, U.S.A.

    Lisa Curran

  6. Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos, INPE, Rod. Presidente Dutra, Km 40, Cx. Postal 01, 12630-000, Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil

    Carlos Nobre

Authors
  1. Márcio Santilli
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  2. Paulo Moutinho
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  3. Stephan Schwartzman
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  4. Daniel Nepstad
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  5. Lisa Curran
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  6. Carlos Nobre
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Correspondence to Márcio Santilli.

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Santilli, M., Moutinho, P., Schwartzman, S. et al. Tropical Deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol. Climatic Change 71, 267–276 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-005-8074-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-005-8074-6

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