We do not need figures to illustrate that the fight against worldwide deforestation (particularly in developing countries) was one of the key issues in the run up to the Climate conference in Copenhagen.
For the past year VITO has worked on solutions in a variety of disciplines, in order to give policy makers the tools to a make well-informed policy choice between the various approaches to combating deforestation and forest degradation. Numerous researchers have worked for years in the field of climate policy. VITO is also renowned throughout the world for its work with satellite images and specialises in the spatial modelling of land use. The incorporation of expertise from these 3 domains for a specific case – the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean – resulted in an integrated way of evaluating changes in land use and examining the options that can be considered when forming climate policy.
On 8 December a few VITO employees presented the concept in the European pavilion at the CoP in Copenhagen. Thus they could count on a sizeable audience from all over the world. The presentation and subsequent discussion about initial results was followed by a round of questions that clearly demonstrated interest in the approach adopted by VITO. After the presentation, specific questions from a few members of the audience were also addressed and contact information was exchanged intensively – thus the signs are positive.
Unfortunately it was not possible to agree concrete figures in Copenhagen with regards to reduction targets, despite the clear need to do so, as indicated by the IPCC. There was also a scarcity of dollars and Euros for the poorest countries to support their fight against climate change. In the meantime, for every tree that disappears, not only do we release greenhouse gasses, but we also lose a bit of the earth’s capacity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
VITO is helping to find the solutions.
VITO presentation: www.se2009.eu (new window)
