Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Indonesia says it might be possible to cut a deal on forests

Indonesia: deforestation deal in sight

"At December's Copenhagen climate summit, six nations pledged a total of 3.5 billion dollars to help developing countries fight the loss of forests, seen as a leading cause of global warming along with industrial pollution.

Basah Hernowo, a senior official in Indonesia's forestry ministry, said he hoped that a system would be finalized by the next climate summit at the end of this year in Mexico.

"I think everybody sees a convergence compared with other sectors. So we are optimistic. Hopefully in Mexico we can complete it," Hernowo told AFP on a visit to Washington."

I hope so. If a bluefin (and perhaps shark) trade ban passes this month, and a deforestation deal that works gets done this year, there might still be some hope for this planet and humanity. There's still a long, long way to go, but maybe we're turning a corner.

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