Statement reinforces sub-national action, desire to forge consensus and enhance effort

Copenhagen, 14 December 2009 – Echoing sub-national unity to fight advancing global climate impacts, governors representing 14 states and provinces today issued a statement urging nations’ support of forestry protocols. The states, including from; Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and the U.S. jointly endorsed a transnational task force that would forge greater involvement of national governments and the international community to help address forestry related issues in developing climate policy. The provinces of East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan, Indonesia were represented by the President and Founder of the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundation (BTRF).

“In California, we’ve shown that it is not only possible to fight climate change at the sub-national level; we’ve proven that a sub-national government has the power to drive change across the nation and the world,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I have seen firsthand the power that cities, states and my partner states and provinces have to influence positive change and create new ideas. My great hope is that this wave of momentum, created by our bond in common purpose, will encourage nations to join with us.”

The governors’ applauded the efforts of national governments and the United Nations framework to advance climate policy, especially provisions for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in climate protection efforts. However, their message is that this issue cannot be solved by national governments alone. Action needs to be mobilized at multiple levels of governance – local, state/provincial, national and international. Agreements at the international or national level will be difficult to implement unless existing programs and capabilities at the sub national level are more adequately supported.

The group of states and provinces have been operating through the Governors’ Climate and Forest Task Force (GCF) with the aim of sharing experiences, building capacity, and developing recommendations for policy makers and regulatory authorities considering ways to integrate REDD and other forest carbon activities into emerging greenhouse gas (GHG) compliance systems. Sub-national interests play an essential role in highlighting the realities of climate change. They are keenly aware of the importance of forests from a grassroots perspective and ensure that these concerns are brought to national and international attention.

The GCF was originally formed in November 2008 among the states and provinces of Aceh (Indonesia); Acre (Brazil); Amapá (Brazil); Amazonas (Brazil); California (U.S.); Illinois (U.S.); Mato Grosso (Brazil); Papua (Indonesia); Pará (Brazil); and Wisconsin (U.S.). The GCF also announced today an expansion of GCF states to include Campeche (Mexico); Cross River State (Nigeria); East Kalimantan (Indonesia); and West Kalimantan (Indonesia).

In October 2009, the GCF sent a letter to the presidents of Indonesia, Brazil, and the U.S. calling for greater leadership on forest and climate policy. The letter outlined principals for a transnational task force and requested that the leaders include provisions for forests in international and national climate policies.

Background
More than 50 percent of the world’s tropical forests are located in the states and provinces participating in the GCF. Rainforests provide important ecosystem services and are a crucial part of climate protection, while also providing livelihoods for countless local communities and indigenous peoples. Deforestation, almost all of which occurs in the tropics, accounts for some 20 percent of GHG emissions – more than the entire global transportation sector and roughly equivalent to annual emissions produced by China or the United States in 2005. And yet, tropical deforestation was expressly excluded from the Kyoto Protocol, creating an immense gap in international climate protection efforts. The world is still failing to ensure that forests are valued for the critical contribution they make to the planet’s health.