Forests Cannot Absorb more CO2 Emissions
10/30/98
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Title: Forests Cannot Absorb more CO2 Emissions
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 10/30/98
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The world's dwindling forests cannot be relied
upon to absorb the industrialised world's carbon dioxide emissions,
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Friday ahead of a United
Nations climate conference.
Environment ministers and experts from around the world are meeting in
Buenos Aires next week to map a course for industrialised countries as
they try to rein in emissions of greenhouse gases in line with the Kyoto
Treaty signed last year.
A new WWF report said a third of the world's forests were at grave risk
from climate change, underlining a need for industrialised countries
to cut CO2 emissions.
``This (WWF) report clearly demonstrates that forests are threatened by
climate change, so countries cannot rely on them to soak up CO2,''
Ute Collier, WWF's British-based Climate Change Officer said in a
statement.
``There is no substitute for cutting emissions at source.''
The WWF report listed 20 forest regions on five continents it says are at
risk from gradual warming of the planet.
``Climate change is setting in motion a vicious cycle of destruction to
the world's forests,'' WWF said in a statement.
``It not only threatens to destroy forests but as they die back they will
trigger the release of vast quantities of carbon stored in vegetation and
forest soils.''
``This will add further to the climate change problem which in turn will
threaten more forests.'' The United States has said outright that it
would not ratify the Kyoto climate treaty without significant
participation by developing countries. The European Union said on Friday
it hoped that hurdle could be overcome at the Buenos Aires gathering.
((Duncan Shiels, London newsroom +44 171 542 8185 fax 542 4453
london.energy.desk+reuters.com))
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.