New York
Former US Diplomat and World Bank Group (IFC) official Oliver Griffith has provided a compelling perspective on a scalable solution for climate change.
Investigating the impact of United Nations (UN) backed projects that work to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD-plus), Griffith makes his case for listening to the people on the front line of the climate crisis.
Griffith visited nine of the most remote villages within the Mai Ndombe REDD-plus Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Speaking directly with community members, community leaders, civil society and regional and national government officials there, Griffith witnessed first-hand a science based climate change solution that was working today.
Oliver Griffith said “There’s little debate that tropical forests must be protected. Deforestation and forest degradation are some of the leading causes of global warming, responsible for about 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. At COP 26, over 140 world leaders promised to end deforestation by 2030, pledging over 19 billion dollars to do so. However, it is not clear how the funds will be used or how countries will achieve the goal. Fortunately, REDD-plus is a proven model that can make this happen.”
The REDD-plus model described in the account works as a replicable and scalable product that can raise substantial funding from corporations which buy Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) also known as carbon credits. It depends on detailed, science-based carbon accounting under the internationally recognized Verified Carbon Standard, and the buy-in via Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local communities.
