3 August 2021
Governments and
corporations rely on ‘unreliable’ and ‘unrealistic’ carbon removal schemes to
reach ‘net zero’ by 2050, a new Oxfam report has said.
Using land alone to
remove global carbon emissions, and thus achieving ‘net zero’ by 2050, would
require 1.6 billion hectares of new forests. The aforementioned area is five
times the size of India, or more than all the farmland on the planet.
“Land is a finite and
precious resource. It is what millions of small-scale farmers and Indigenous
people around the world depend upon for their livelihoods,” Says Chief
Executive of Oxfam Ireland, Jim Clarken.
The report found a pressure
on demand for land as an unintended consequences of carbon removal schemes
adopted by many governments and companies. These targets are often without
clear definition and thus risk being reliant on large swaths of land in
low-income countries.
So although ‘net zero’
may sound like a good idea, Mr. Clarken found, “over-relying
on planting trees and as-yet-unproven technology instead of genuinely shifting away
from fossil fueled-dependent economies is a dangerous folly. We will be
hoodwinked by ‘net zero’ targets if all they amount to are smokescreens for
dirty business-as-usual.”
Additionally, land-based
carbon removal methods like mass tree planting could spur an “explosion in
demand for land”. This could lead to an increase in global food prices by about 80 per cent by 2050.
“Under current plans, there is simply
not enough land in the world to realise them all. They could instead spark even
more hunger, land grabs and human rights abuses, while polluters use them as an
alibi to keep polluting,” Clarken
added.
No magic fixes
Rather than relying on outsourcing carbon
removal to reach net zero a society-wide change is required, the report said.
According to Mr. Clarken,
the approach must be “supported by a broad supportive
national policy framework”. Although he recognizes
nature and land-based carbon removal schemes as an important part to halting
global emissions, they should be pursued in a “much more cautious way”.
If companies and
governments use net zero targets, they should be “measurable, transparent and
prioritise dramatically slashing emissions by 2030,” according to Mr. Clarken.
The report also
demanded a stronger focus on cutting carbon in the near term, G20 prioritisation
of ambitious climate action, transparency targets, for companies take steps to
cut emissions in their own operations, and for land use to ensure zero hunger.
“There
are no magic fixes to reach ‘net zero’,” urged Mr. Clarken.
“Ireland should not expect offsets in
low- and middle-income countries to come to the rescue if we miss our emission
targets.”
By Sam Starkey
The post Oxfam: ‘net zero’ targets can distract and delay emissions reductions appeared first on Green News Ireland.
