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1. Forests, foreign policy and trade

Author:
Johannes Weberling
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The EU’s Regulation for Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) marks an important milestone in addressing demand-side deforestation governance, being the first regulation targeting deforestation driven by agriculture. Yet it must be understood as more than an effort to protect the world’s forests – it showcases the European Commission unilaterally acting to promote values and policy ideas abroad. It displays issues of transnational social justice and power discrepancies, shedding light on shifting market power dynamics in global structures. And it questions the EU’s standing as a trustworthy partner on the international stage as well as its relationships with important producer countries. Analysing the EUDR from these angles offers valuable insights that can be transferred to other due diligence instruments that are currently being drafted or negotiated, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Unilateral action may provide a semblance of control but is by nature limited in the depth of scope. As its market influence wanes, the need for the EU to position itself as a reliable partner becomes increasingly important. To prevent leakage, demand-side measures such as the EUDR must be paired with supply-side measures. The EUDR’s success will hinge on careful and efficient implementation, accompanied by meaningful consultations and engagements with producer countries. Overall, prioritising the external dimensions of such legislation must first and foremost uphold trust and strengthen collaborative relationships with partner countries.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Regulation, Trade, Forest, and Deforestation
Political Geography:
Europe

2. Global incentive mechanism to protect standing forests

Author:
Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
The planet’s future hinges on safeguarding the remaining tropical forests. These forests, crucial for reducing global temperature by at least 1°C, are home for two-thirds of global biodiversity and absorb 29% of the world’s annual CO2 emissions. In this Global Futures Bulletin, we present a global incentive mechanism designed to enhance, not just replace, carbon markets, and to more effectively compensate those committed to conserving forest. The core concept involves a simple and intuitive set of new incentives, enticing individuals, organizations, or nations to cease deforestation in return for yearly payments per hectare of preserved forest. Funding would come from multiple sources, including combined funding mechanisms from philanthropies, bilateral and multilateral funds, and institutional investors. This mechanism aims to cover the opportunity cost of the immediate land-use benefits from forest degradation, such as livestock farming and monoculture agriculture. Nations that possess these vital ecosystems should be at the forefront of this movement. Brazil, with 59% of its territory covered by forests and set to host COP30 in 2025, is poised to be a key player in developing a global financial framework that secures a sustainable future for the planet and its people.
Topic:
Climate Change, Climate Finance, Carbon Emissions, Forest, Biodiversity, and Conference of the Parties (COP)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Lebanon’s Unregulated Forests: How Tragedies Can Ignite Homegrown Transformations

Author:
Sammy Kayyed
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
One could argue that Akkar, more than any other region in Lebanon, epitomizes both the country’s incredible natural heritage and its spiraling economic and political crises. While Lebanon sets records for the loss of purchasing power, rapid financial collapse, social injustice, and frequency of government deadlock, Akkar regularly emerges as the most challenged across multiple dimensions of poverty.1 ,2 Yet, it is considered to have the richest forests, biodiversity, and water resources in a country that regionally stands apart for these attributes.3 Separations between natural wealth and socio-economic poverty are being joined by newfound opportunities, materializing over the last three years, with residents seeking to relieve their financial troubles by cutting trees. With little to no state regulation in forests, Akkar has become a hotbed for this understandable but possibly ecologically irreversible recourse. This paper tells the story of how the greatest rate of forest loss in Akkar’s recorded history is being met by local activists organizing, resisting forest over-exploitation, garnering resources, and onboarding the wider community in an unprecedented fashion. Their acts of solidarity happened in the face of recent conflict and casualty over forest resources stressed by climate extremes. Given the sensitive nature of the paper, the author chose to keep interlocutors, contacted between September and December 2022, anonymous.
Topic:
Environment, Natural Disasters, Forest, and Wildfires
Political Geography:
Middle East and Lebanon

4. Our climate future depends on conflict dynamics in Congo

Author:
Peer Schouten, Judith Verweijen, and Fergus Simpson
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
The Congo Basin rainforest – the second largest on earth – absorbs four percent of global CO2 emissions and constitutes a crucial line of defense against cataclysmic climate change. However, a complex mix of illegal resource exploitation and conflict is currently threatening the rainforest. To curb these threats and their global consequenses, we need to understand the interplay between resources, conflict and environmental protection in Congo.
Topic:
Climate Change, Armed Forces, Conflict, Carbon Emissions, Forest, and Deforestation
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo