Comment Log Display

The Indigenous Environmental Network is pleased to comment on the
2030 Target Scoping Plan of June 17, 2016. If we read it correctly,
it appears that our concerns about California’s Jurisdictional REDD
Program have been taken into account, as Jurisdictional REDDs is
not mentioned in California’s long term target scoping. Although we
have heard anecdotal evidence that CARB intends to continue the
development of REDD Jurisdictional programs, we hope that this
paper, targeting real emissions from transportation, building
efficiency and heating fuels, among other domestic and
international programs, is the path that California will follow. We
earnestly hope that we are not being led into some garden path. We
take CARB’s statements on transparency at face value.

We continue to have some concerns as to the market approach to
reducing Greenhouse gas emissions but we note that the Concept
Paper cites the California Environmental Justice Advisory Committee
as an important party to these discussions. Human rights and
Indigenous rights are not inimical to real reductions in emissions
and in fact are part and parcel of not only climate change but the
solutions to this very real threat to the survival of humanity. As
the Concept Paper states:

“It is important to note that both climate change and the health
inequities we see in our communities share similar root causes: the
inequitable distribution of social, political and economic power.
These power imbalances result in systems (i.e. economic,
transportation, land use, etc.) and conditions that drive both
health inequities and GHG emissions. As a result, we see
communities with inequitable living conditions, such as low-income
communities of color living in more polluted areas, facing climate
change impacts that compound and exacerbate existing sensitivities
and vulnerabilities. Fair and healthy climate action requires
addressing the inequities that create and intensify community
vulnerabilities.”

The same can be said of forest dwelling communities. We continue to
believe, hope and work to the end that the world’s tropical forests
can and should be restored. But not at the expense of those
Indigenous Peoples who have given their lives in their care and
protection. They have been the caretakers of this precious resource
and must be allowed to continue that role unencumbered by the
billions of dollars projected by some from carbon trading.
Unfortunately some, including the 1%er “environmental” NGOs see
REDD as a new “forest development paradigm” that would relegate
indigenous peoples to the vast army of the urban unemployed while
not achieving real GHG reductions. It is an established fact that
carbon markets have not worked in any real reduction of GHG
emissions.  And putting a price on nature has invariably led to its
destruction.

We also continue to have concerns as to the urgency of offering
real solutions. The 1.5° Celsius goal of the Paris Accords will not
be met unless real and abiding reductions are achieved in the next
three or four years. The difference between 1.5° and 2° is millions
more lives affected, trillions of additional dollars in damage, an
unacceptable loss of life and an even greater destruction of the
world’s biodiversity. We also fear that the United States, as other
developed nations, will use any real reductions achieved by
California and others as offsets for their Nationally Determined
Contributions. The world is already at the 2° and leading to a 4-6°
rise in the temperature of the Earth. Real emissions reduction must
be achieved.

In this respect we wish CARB success in your proposed
“complimentary policies.”

With regard to California’s forests, we also take heart in the
Concept Paper’s discussion on California’s forests. California, by
some studies, is shown to lose 100 acres a day of forest, making
California forests a net contributor of GHGs. We hope that CARB
will address this problem in the near future.

Again, IEN is somewhat more at ease that CARB’s Concept Paper does
not mention Jurisdictional REDD and thus is apparently willing to
forego it. We hope that transparency is valued by CARB and the
State of California and that this is not an unintended omission. We
also will continue to be involved in the discussions on the battle
against global warming and appreciate CARB’s apparent transparency
and willingness to receive comments.

Respectfully Submitted,

Alberto Saldamando
Indigenous Environmental Network
alberto@sbcglobal.net
1(415) 656-9198