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On Thursday, October 6, the Climate & Energy Program partnered with the Norwegian Embassy and Avoided Deforestation Partners to host a lunch briefing for Embassy staff on "Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Status of the U.S. Climate Debate & Implications for Copenhagen." The event focused on options to create incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation currently under debate in the U.S. Congress. GMF Senior Policy Director Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and Norwegian Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strømmen provided opening remarks. GMF's Climate & Energy Program Director Cathleen Kelly moderated.

The event featured a distinguished panel of experts, including: Stuart Eizenstat, former EU Ambassador; Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Nigel Purvis, Senior GMF Fellow; and Founder of Avoided Deforestation Partners, Jeffrey Horowitz. All of the panelists offered insightful remarks on the important role forests play in mitigating climate change and providing sustainable livelihoods. The panel included both developed and developing country perspectives.

Norwegian Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strømmen noted that roughly 20 percent of global emissions come from tropical deforestation. He shared Norway's strong support for including forest conservation in development and climate change strategies--Norway is investing up to $500 million annually to finance activities to reduce emissions from deforestation.

Keynote speaker Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, emphasized the immediate danger posed by climate change. Africa stands to be the hardest hit, where the national security and climate-induced migration threats are real. She underlined the importance of U.S. leadership and strong incentives to reduce deforestation, to both mitigate the effects of climate change and support sustainable development.

Founder of Avoided Deforestation Partners, Jeffrey Horowitz, described the diverse coalition of business leaders and NGOs who have set aside their differences on the issue of protecting forests as a climate change mitigation strategy. This broad coalition-- including the left-leaning Sierra Club and American Electric Power, one of the nation's largest emitters of carbon dioxide-- has reached consensus on a set of principles for including forests in climate policy.

Former EU Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat said that the U.S. Congress would not pass climate legislation before the UN climate meeting in December and cautioned that Europe and other countries should manage their expectations about what could be accomplished in Copenhagen. He said that EU and U.S. policymakers must come to the negotiating table in Copenhagen ready to put in place a framework for an agreement that includes strong incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation. Without such incentives, he said it would be difficult to have a serious conversation with developing countries about their options to reduce emissions.

Nigel Purvis shared his optimism that the United States will join Norway in playing a leadership role in supporting incentives to reduce deforestation in climate policies. He called on American and European policymakers to invest in capacity building and national plans to reduce deforestation in developing countries. He also emphasized the importance of sending a clear signal in Copenhagen that forests will be a key part of the global climate deal, in order to give investors the confidence they need to commit funds to forest conservation activities.

To listen to the on-the-record portion of the event in its entirety, please click here.