WORLD BANK PAYS US$4 PER TON OF FOREST CARBON IN ETHIOPIA

The World Bank offers $4 a ton for half the carbon emssions saved by an African forest project based in Ethiopa.

The project aims to implement afforestation and reforestation in an area that was stripped of trees for wood fuel in the south west of the country. Known as the Humbo Assisted Natural Regeneration Project, it hopes to sell 165,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions reductions over the first 10 years of its life.

As part of the initiative, 800 local actors have formed into 7 reforestation cooperatives whose members will receive the forest carbon credit payments for overseeing the regeneration of trees instead of making a living from selling fire wood. In order to minimise leakage from the project (e.g. someone else taking future wood fuel from neighbouring forested areas), the scheme includes the growing of some trees specifically dedicated to fuel wood sales.

The carbon credits will be classified as "temporary CER's (Certified Emissions Reductions)" since under Clean development Mechanism (CDM) rules, permanent CER's are not issued for forest carbon projects because of the risks to long term permance of trees and forests. A renewable energy plant funded though CDM, however, has a more calculable projected lifespan and can be insured against significant risks, like fire.

Created under the Kyoto protocol, the CDM scheme only exists until 2012, so the window of opportunity for forestry projects under this initiative is narrowing rapidly. The hope is that the UN Climate Summit in Mexico later this month will agree on fast implementation of new carbon forestry schemes through newer programmes like REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).

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