Carbon Monitoring Beats Closing Down Power Plants

A new study carried out by the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) argues that monitoring and keeping large amounts of carbon out of our atmosphere would be far more effective than simply shutting down some 1,400 fossil fuel-powered electrical plants. The point of view is to be presented at the Poznan Conference of the Parties (COP 14) summit, which is currently trying to find a common ground between all nations of the world, in matters tied to climate change and global warming.

 

The report says that carbon cap-and-trade systems are the most effective in combating temperature rises for now, and they will become even more so, if forests, rivers and soils are included in the schemes as well. Thus far, scientists were unable to measure exactly how much carbon each type of soil stored, so attempts of introducing carbon credits for this land were unsuccessful.

 

Now, new measuring techniques allow for the beginning of such measurements, which will provide the UN with an approximate estimate of just how much CO2 we emit our planet stores. While compiling its report, the ICRAF looked carefully at all available data, including those coming from satellite pictures and in situ observations. The goal of this survey was to ultimately be able to decipher the rate of carbon sequestration various types of materials had.

 

Assessing greenhouse gas quantities on various territories could give their owners an incentive to start participating in the Carbon Stock Exchange, which was valued at $64 billion in 2007, and shows signs of continuous growth, despite the international financial crisis.

 

Another plus of the carbon trading scheme is that it would finally give developing countries enough reasons to take an active interest in seizing the illegal logging in their tropical forests, which accounts for some 20 percent of the total emissions being pumped into the atmosphere each year. Placing value on forests could make them more valuable "alive" than in the back of trucks, and could persuade authorities to take control of the matter, instead of leaving it to the tree cutters.