This week’s Boston Globe reports that “New England’s forests are an underused tool in the climate fight.”
New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) Deputy Director and Climate Fellow Andi Colnes heads off to the United Nations climate-change conference COP27 in Egypt on Sunday to bring this message to the international stage, make new connections, and spread the word about NEFF’s 30 Percent Solution, which has the potential to meet a third of New England’s 2050 climate-mitigation goals using just such forest-based climate solutions. She will also share NEFF’s approach to incentivizing climate-smart forestry through our $30 million Climate-Smart Commodities project, and offer it as a globally relevant model.
Starting Monday, Nov. 14, readers can follow along with Andi at COP27 as she live-blogs from Egypt. Posts will go up on the NEFF website’s blog and then be shared via our homepage, email newsletter and Facebook page, so be sure to sign up and check in.
This year’s COP begins amidst unequivocal signs of the global climate emergency, while it is also clear the planet is not on track to meet the IPCC’s CO2 emissions-reduction goals. And, due to increasing global conflict, some countries have stalled or reversed climate policies and fallen back on renewed use of fossil fuels.
Given all of this, NEFF is not only planning to learn from and contribute to global climate conversations at COP, but is also looking for opportunities where NEFF and New England can help inspire and drive real, tangible action.
What do we bring to the table?
NEFF is a unique organization, thanks to its long history as a nonprofit that pairs sustainable forestry innovation with forest conservation, and this dual expertise has allowed us to develop a forest management approach well suited to addressing the climate crisis: Exemplary Forestry, a carbon-storing powerhouse NEFF has tested and improved upon over time on its own conserved lands, and that mitigates climate change while also improving forest productivity and wildlife habitat.
Spreading the use of Exemplary Forestry in New England is the heart of our 30 Percent Solution, and could keep 542 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon out of the atmosphere over the next 30 years, with three other forest-based solutions accounting for an additional 102 MMT.
Forests provide a proven and cost-efficient way to capture atmospheric carbon, a necessary step now that reducing emissions alone won’t be enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and working forests can be quickly deployed in the fight against climate change through the implementation of climate-smart forestry. Exemplary Forestry and the 30 Percent Solution are examples of the kinds of tools the world needs right now.
Ultimately, we at NEFF know how to develop innovative approaches to intractable problems, and also how to roll up our sleeves, put on our boots and deliver climate results in New England’s forests.
Related Posts
New England Forestry Foundation Heads To COP27 | November 10
NEFF at COP27: Day 1 | November 14
NEFF at COP27: Day 2 | November 15
NEFF at COP27: Day 3 | November 16
NEFF at COP27: Day 4 | November 17
COP27 Wrapup—What Did We Learn? | November 22
Top photo: NEFF’s Nelson Memorial Forest, photo by Twolined Studio