Selling Forest CO2 Credits Could Equal Profits from Palm Oil Farms

Preserving Indonesia’s tropical forests by selling credits for the billions of tons of carbon they contain could be as profitable as razing the forests to grow palm oil, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Conservation Letters, said that saving the forests could generate just as much money as destroying them if a global carbon market is established that prices carbon at $10 to $33 per ton. Under the conservation program known as REDD — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation — governments, businesses, and investors would buy credits on a global market that would enable them to emit more carbon than allocated under so-called cap-and-trade programs. The money spent on those credits could be used to pay the Indonesian government or landowners not to destroy tropical forests to grow palm oil, a highly profitable crop. The spread of oil palm plantations has led to massive destruction of Indonesia’s tropical forests. The study, conducted by an Australian biologist, said that 8.2 million acres of forest on Kalimantan on the island of Borneo are soon scheduled to be cleared for palm oil plantations.