Over the past two centuries, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been increasing due to the intensification of activities such as the use of fossil fuels, agricultural production, industries, and transport.
The discussions related to this issue have intensified since the 80s, culminating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established in 1992. There, participating parties set an objective to stabilize the greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, bringing together adaptability of ecosystems and sustainable economic development.
The Kyoto Protocol established the commitment accepted by each of the parties and determined that industrialized nations should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5% from the 1990 index. Enacted in 2005, The Protocol permits contributions from developing countries such as Brazil, that are not obliged to reduce their emissions, through projects of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The CDM projects, through reductions in emission levels, generate “carbon credits”, which can be acquired by industrialized countries in compliance with their reduction quotas established in the Protocol.
Parallel to the Kyoto Protocol carbon credit market, voluntary initiatives have appeared from companies and institutions that had no obligation to reduce emissions, but wanted to compensate their emissions through the acquisition of carbon credits in a non Kyoto market, known as the Voluntary Market.
Voluntary compensation is different from the purchase of carbon reductions in compulsory systems, such as the Kyoto Protocol, and it is important to understand that both tools have an important, though distinct, role in the fight against climate change.
Emission reduction projects are a way to promote sustainable development, resulting in not only environmental, but also social and economic gains. The inclusion of local development objectives in emission reduction projects is based on the principle that each country has the right to achieve social and economic development while avoiding impacts on the environment, prioritizing poverty reduction as a final goal.
Although it is a subject that is being discussed often, it is the role of all to inform and educate about which are the ways of mitigating climate change effects, emphasizing the importance of scientific research, conservationism and environmental protection, and encouraging socio-economic benefits, which are activities related to Ecologica Institute’s mission.