California environmental regulators zeroed in on tropical deforestation Wednesday as a top cause of global climate change and looked for ways to halt the destruction of distant forests through the state’s pioneering carbon cap-and-trade program.
The California Air Resources Board said it was considering allowing companies in the state to purchase a small amount of credits in the carbon trading system when deforestation is controlled in Brazil, Mexico or other countries. The board’s meeting Wednesday drew indigenous leaders and others from such tropical forest areas, all of them stressing the importance of saving the vegetation in their regions.
Tropical forests are considered one of the world’s major carbon sinks and their destruction – often by burning – contributes up to 14 percent of global carbon emissions.
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