REDD Early Movers: The fallacy of the Green Economy

REDD Early Movers – Jurisdictional REDD

One of the objectives of the 2016 coup was to increase the Brazilian State's support for large corporations—which are the main entities responsible for environmental pollution—and accelerate this support at a speed that immobilizes us.

In today's context of capitalism in crisis and deepening neoliberalism, the new strategy is to monetize and market the functions of nature. This strategy involves capital expansion mainly onto indigenous lands, quilombolas and traditional communities, and it uses the State as an intermediary. Foreign capital is now valuing the functions of nature, which have been transformed into "environmental services." An example of foreign capital's interest in this new "business" is the presence of the German bank KFW, England and other stakeholders in the state of Mato Grosso.

Big Capital's interests are being secured through global agreements—signed in the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change. However, these agreements do not consider paradigm shifts, such as initiatives to reduce corporate control over the international food system, or initiatives to strengthen less carbon-intensive agricultural models—such as agroecology.

The REDD Early Movers policy - REM, (which we could translate as: "those implementing REDD before everyone else") is being promoted by the German bank, KFW, and accepted by Mato Grosso State. It is an example of how Big Capital interests are appropriating the functions of nature in order to generate more capital.

And they do so by selling air! Or more specifically, by trading carbon captured by forests. This is the beginning of another destructive marketing and privatization process. As an example of another similar process, the water currently being privatized is restricting access to potable water for 1.5 billion people worldwide.

REM promotes the carbon market and serves as a precursor to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). The idea for REM came from industrialized countries, which have large corporations that burn fossil fuels and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide in order to generate energy. They are the main entities responsible for global warming and climate change, which will affect all of humanity, and forests too. REDD—an offset mechanism that does not actually offset anything—is a solution for them, as it gives them the right to continue, and even increase, their pollution levels.

The REDD EarlyMovers program is a bridge to the REDD+ "jurisdictional" program. In this program, the German government pays the Mato Grosso State government [1], if the latter can prove that—with the German bank's help—deforestation has not exceeded an agreed-upon maximum. This is not the case for Mato Grosso State, where deforestation has been increasing gradually since 2012, and always at high rates. 95% of the deforestation in 2016 was illegal, according to data from the Center of Life Institute (ICV, by its Portuguese acronym) [2].

The Green Economy, of which REDD is a part, uses this name under the pretext of solving the climate crisis. However, it is merely another form of speculation: "In no way does it allow for the radical change which present circumstances require. Rather, it may simply become a ploy which permits maintaining the excessive consumption of some countries and sectors. " (Pope Francis, Laudato si).

TO FIGHT REDD+ IS ALSO TO FIGHT CAPITALISM! There is one choice, and we made ours.

"Care For Our Common Home."

This release has been signed by the following organizations (acronyms from Portuguese)

  1. Brazilian Association of Popular Homeopathy – ABHP
  2. Brazilian Association of Popular Health - ABRASP/BIO SAÚDE
  3. Regional Association of Agroecological Producers – ARPA
  4. Regional Extractive Producers Association of Pantanal - ARPEP
  5. Central Única de los Trabajadores - CUT
  6. Burnier Faith and Justice Center - CBFJ - CJCIAS
  7. Center for Alternative Technology - CTA
  8. Pastoral Land Commission - CPT – MT
  9. Brazilian Religious Conference – CRB - MT
  10. Indigenous Missionary Council - CIMI-MT
  11. Federation of Bodies for Social and Educational Assistance - FASE
  12. Human and Land Rights Forum MT
  13. Climate Change and Social Justice Forum
  14. Education & Merleau-Ponty Study Group – GEMPO UFMT/IE
  15. Social Movement and Educational Research Group – GPMSE/PPGE/IE/ UFMT
  16. Environmental Education, Communication and Art Research Group, GPEA-UFMT
  17. Caracol Institute - IC
  18. GAIA Institute
  19. Landless Workers Movement - MST
  20. Traditional Communities Network (of the Pantanera Region)
  21. RuAção - Núcleo Interinstitucional Merleau - freiriano (UFMT)

[1] http://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/redd-in-the-paris-agreement-secures-funding-for-conservation-industry-while-large-scale-deforestation-advances-unhindered/

 [2] Site: http://www.icv.org.br/2017/01/24/taxas-de-desmatamento-registradas-no-estado-ameacam-reducao-dos-ultimos-dez-anos-aponta-analise-do-icv/. Consultado from August 20, 2017