Leadership by example needed – Greens

Green Media Release

A New Zealand initiative to try to halt global deforestation has been praised by Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman.

“Unlike most of the world leaders who spoke at the United Nations Climate Change Conference yesterday, Minister Responsible for Climate Change Issues, David Parker, raised a new idea to help negotiations,” Dr Norman says.

Moves toward a new protocol on deforestation, as Mr Parker suggests, may help advance talks on a draft statement on deforestation which currently has no real plan of action.

“However, if New Zealand wants to be a leader at Bali, leadership is best done by example,” Dr Norman says.

“Poorer countries are more likely to stop logging if richer countries like New Zealand make commitments to help them financially. Rich countries have already cut down much of their forests and released the carbon into the atmosphere. If we want poorer countries to keep their forests in place we need to pay them to do so.

“Deforestation contributes about 20 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. If we can get an agreement towards preventing or reducing deforestation and forest degradation the world would have made a huge contribution to reducing global emissions levels.

“The only way humankind will meet the challenge of climate change is to work together. We need to provide assistance to poorer countries to keep their forests in place.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media