Framework for carbon trade set

THE country has a framework to accurately monetise its forests through carbon trading (stocks), says Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Minister Wera Mori.
The framework means that the State will get 40 per cent of the revenue from any carbon sale, while 60 per cent will be shared between the landowners and developers.
“This is to ensure that state has visibility of all carbon trades, in compliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) systems,” he said.
PNG is currently dominated by voluntary carbon sales under the PNG REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation, Forest Degradation) arrangement.
“PNG REDD+ provided avenue for foreign investors and developers to establish dialogue directly with people in very isolated communities, measure the amount of carbon dioxide hosted in this particular area and establish a trade off in the global market under their own terms,” the minister said.
“They were able to trade involving the traditional landowners who they engaged, and to some extent, the district and provincial government.
“The State was supposed to get 7 per cent through the climate change development authority. But it never successful because the State had no visibility as to how these trading were being undertaken.”
He said after COP26 last year, PNG decided to ban logging and monetise its forests through carbon trading.
Last month, Mori placed a moratorium on any new and proposed REDD+ projects aimed at generating voluntary carbon credits, as work finalised to present the new arrangements before the parliament for deliberation.
PNG will measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the country through the application of remote sensing such as satellite imagery and on-the-ground comprehensive exercise.