Carbon-for-debt-swaps: Mitigation strategies in native forested landscapes in the center of Argentina for debt with Paris Club proposal

GOBBI, JOSE ALBERTO; TELLO, DIEGO SEBASTIÁN; CRISTECHE, ESTELA RAQUEL

Seúl

Congreso; XV Congreso Forestal Mundial; 2022

Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura

Climate change is a global negative externality as countries dump their GHG emissions into the atmosphere without considering the costs that impose on third parties. To achieve a climate objective of a two-degree temperature increase limit by 2100 requires a drastic reduction in global GHG emissions. Many countries in the Global South have contracted debts with international financial organizations and are facing the challenge of increasing exports to fulfil their financial obligations and reducing emissions of GHG at the same time. However, these countries have historically had low contributions to total global GHG emissions and, as such, they could be considered financial debtors but environmental creditors in terms of GHG emissions. For this reason, it is argued that financing in reducing GHG emissions should fall mostly on developed countries. Based on those arguments, we developed a ?carbon-for-financial-debt? mechanism involving Argentina (as financial debtor country) and the countries members of the Paris Club (as environmental debtor countries). The mechanism involves the adoption of mitigation technologies for livestock production in 2.7 million ha of native forest landscapes in the center of Argentina, and the payment of the reduced/avoided emissions of C by Paris Club country members. Preliminary estimates indicate a potential significant reduction of CO2 emissions that could be applied to cancel part of the debt with Paris Club during a 10-year period.