英國查理王子於1日在聖詹姆士宮召開世界領袖會議，以喚起各國採取緊急行動、緩和雨林破壞的危機意識。此會議強調必須有所行動，來遏止因砍伐森林造成的溫室氣體排放。
王儲在其雨林計畫中提出「發行雨林債券來募集緊急行動方案資金」的概念。他表示，債券發發行於全球民間資本市場，並以無汙染開發的投資或國內核准的碳交易來償付。根據這項雨林提案，雨林債券可由世界銀行或由其支助的獨立機構來發行，並要由已開發國家政府作擔保來負責償還債券並回饋給本金。
這個50分鐘的會議吸引許多隔日要在倫敦參與G20全球金融危機重整高峰會的國家元首與政府首長，包括澳大利亞、法國、德國、蓋亞那(Guyana)、印尼、義大利、日本、挪威、沙烏地阿拉伯以及歐盟。
熱帶雨林砍伐所造成溫室氣體排放，大約佔每年全球總排放量的17%。雨林提供了生態系服務，如調節降雨與儲水，並保存地球一半以上的生物多樣性。這些雨林正如王儲所稱因全球伐木業、糧食與其他民需問題而以驚人的速率消失。
然而王儲的雨林債券提案立刻遭到全球森林聯盟(Global Forest Coalition)的反對，這是全世界性的環境與在地人民的組織網絡。聯盟的主席Miguel Lovera博士表示：「碳交易市場已經證實是高度不可信賴的環保資金來源。森林與其居民所需要的絕不是此類形式的金融空論。」
熱帶雨林在地與部落人民國際聯盟(International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest)政策顧問Marcial Arias表示：「原住民已證明有保育與復育森林的能力，既然我們沒有再破壞森林，我們就不能在碳交易市場上販售緩和森林砍伐的計畫。相反地，我們已見證原住民因碳交易販賣者在他們的土地上種植單一樹種而被迫遷離。」
全球森林聯盟北美焦點處與全球正義生態計畫(Global Justice Ecology Project)執行長Anne Petermann表示：「碳交易市場只受到少數製造污染者的喜好。以減緩氣候變遷的經驗來看，碳交易市場只是浪費時間與金錢。氣候危機正急劇竄升，我們需要的是立即遏止森林砍伐，以及G20等已開發國家清清楚楚的許諾－－減少他們國家至少80%的溫室氣體排放量，而不是以碳交易補償的方式。」
Today, The Prince of Wales hosted a meeting of world leaders at St. James's Palace to raise awareness of the need for emergency action to slow down rainforest destruction. The meeting highlighted the need for action to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by deforestation.
The Prince's Rainforests Project proposes a Rainforest Bond that could be issued in global private capital markets to raise financing for an emergency package. The bonds would be paid back with the proceeds from clean development investments or domestic carbon permit auctions, the Prince proposes.
Rainforest Bonds could be issued by the World Bank, or by an independent entity with support from the World Bank, according to the proposal. The bonds would be guaranteed by developed country governments, which would be responsible for payment of the coupon and repayment of the principal
The 50 minute meeting at St. James's Palace attracted many of the heads of state and government in London for tomorrow's G20 Summit on recovery from the global financial crisis, including the leaders of Australia, France, Germany, Guyana, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the European Union.
Tropical deforestation accounts for roughly 17 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions each year. Rainforests provide ecosystem services such as regulating rainfall, storing water and preserving over half the planet's biodiversity. These forests are disappearing at what the Prince called "an alarming rate," driven by global demand for timber, food and other commodities.
But the Prince's Rainforest Bonds proposal ran into immediate opposition from the Global Forest Coalition, a worldwide network of environmental organizations and indigenous peoples organizations.
Dr. Miguel Lovera, who chairs the coalition, said, "Carbon markets have proven to be a highly unreliable source of funding for environmental protection. The last thing forests and forest peoples need is yet another form of financial speculation."
"Indigenous peoples have proven to be capable of conserving and restoring their forests, but since we do not destroy forests, we will not be able to sell projects to reduce deforestation on the carbon market," said Marcial Arias, policy advisor of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest, who is attending the climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany this week.
"Instead, said Arias, "we are already seeing how indigenous peoples are being forcibly displaced from their land by carbon traders who want to use their lands to establish monoculture tree plantations."
"Carbon markets favor a handful of polluters only," said Anne Petermann, North American focal point for the Global Forest Coalition and executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project.
"In terms of mitigating climate change, carbon markets have proven to be a waste of time and money," Petermann said. "The climate crisis is escalating so rapidly that we need both an immediate halt to deforestation and a clear commitment of the developed country members of the G20 to take the lead and commit to the necessary reduction of at least 80 percent in their greenhouse gas emissions - with no carbon offsets."
