Over two hundred companies from the forestry investment sector have joined forces to lobby the climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark this month.
Not many industries are as competitive as the eucalyptus pulp and paper business in South America. Due to the combination of breeding and climate conditions, a eucalyptus tree reaches the optimum harvest point in around seven years – the global growth average is at least double that period.
During its lifecycle, every single eucalyptus tree is able to absorb up to 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the largest single contributor to global warming. But despite the huge benefit this high level of carbon dioxide absorption brings, the forests planted before the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol are not included in the list of projects of Clean Development Mechanism.
The proceeds from the Clean Development Mechanism are considered to be vitally important to accelerate plans for forestry investments and for new areas by companies like Suzano and fibre (from the merger of Votorantim Papel e Celulose Aracruz).
The maximum price of carbon credits linked to the Clean Development Mechanism is $ 34 per tonne and the paper manufacturers have two million hectares of plantation forests, and another 2.9 million hectares of native forests.
Elizabeth Carvalhaes, president of Bracelpa said the proceeds from the CDM would be used mainly in the expansion of the stocks of reforested wood. The aim is to increase the cultivation of eucalyptus and pine in 2018 by a quarter to 2.5 million hectares. At present the only alternative for the forestry sector is trying to sell claims on these areas in Carbon Exchange of Chicago, where the price is $ 5 per tonne. ”The lack of regulation means that there is no interest from investors or from the countries that need to offset their emissions,” commented the spokesperson from Bracelpa.
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