
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
'A little tough love': Top quotes from Trump tariff talk
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs
-
Grealish dedicates Man City goal to late brother

Market-based schemes not reducing deforestation, poverty: report
Market-based approaches to forest conservation like carbon offsets and deforestation-free certification schemes have largely failed to protect trees or alleviate poverty, according to a major scientific review published on Monday.
The global study -- the most comprehensive of its kind to date -- found that trade and finance-driven initiatives had made "limited" progress halting deforestation and in some cases worsened economic inequality.
Drawn from years of academic and field work, the report compiled by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), a group of 15,000 scientists in 120 countries, will be presented at a high-level UN forum starting Monday.
Its authors urged a "radical rethink" of increasingly popular market-based approaches often promoted as effective at saving forests, curbing global warming and raising living standards in developing nations.
"The evidence does not support the claim of win-wins or triple wins for environment, economy and people often made for market mechanisms as a policy response to environmental problems," said contributing author Maria Brockhaus from the University of Helsinki.
"Rather our cases show that poverty and forest loss both are persistent across different regions of the world... where market mechanisms have been the main policy option for decades," she told AFP by email.
- No accountability -
Since the last IUFRO assessment in 2010, the report noted a rise in complex and overlapping market-based schemes "with financial actors and shareholders more often interested in short-term profits than long-term just and sustainable forest governance".
Its lead author, Constance McDermott from the University of Oxford, said this may not be true of all individual projects "but overall... it's hard to say they've been a rousing success".
The report said a $120 million project in the Democratic Republic of Congo had "reinforced entrenched interests" by restricting local people from forests without addressing logging by powerful extractive businesses.
In Malaysia, indigenous groups promised better livelihoods from a foreign-backed plantation venture on their customary land received no benefit, the report said.
"As both cases show, 'wins' are often gained elsewhere, while the burdens of forest loss, enclosures and forestland conversion are carried locally," said Brockhaus.
In Ghana, deforestation rates had risen despite a slew of sustainable cocoa standards, corporate pledges, and carbon offset projects, while farmers were earning less today than decades ago, said McDermott.
Meanwhile green trade policies imposed by wealthy countries -- like the EU's ban on imports linked to deforestation -- might look good from Brussels but did not consider the knock-on effects, she added.
"There's no accountability. If this doesn't work -- or farmers are pushed off their farm as a result -- it's not going to hurt the person eating chocolate in the UK or Germany," she said.
- 'Radical rethink' -
Despite recent turmoil, carbon markets are projected to grow into a multi-billion-dollar industry as corporations increasingly turn to credits to meet their net-zero climate targets.
Credits are purchased from projects, often in developing nations, that reduce or avoid the release of planet-heating emissions, such as protecting CO2-absorbing rainforests or peat swamps.
Kenya's President William Ruto has called Africa's carbon sinks an "unparalleled economic goldmine" that could generate billions of dollars every year.
But there are growing concerns about how much of that revenue poor communities might expect to see, with unscrupulous actors accused of exploitation.
Brockhaus said market-based approaches may be appealing to policymakers but would not be a solution without also addressing the broader economic and governance challenges around forest management.
"We advocate for a radical rethink," she said.
T.Batista--PC