COP16 Sees Action Against Biomass Subsidies (Mongabay) 

In recent years, biofuel has gained tremendous popularity as an alternative to fossil fuels. Yet scientists have now demonstrated how burning forest biomass to produce energy emits more carbon emissions than coal when measured per unit of electricity generated. They also have evidence that forest-based products like wood pellets degrade carbon stores and biodiversity. It is a debate that has gained momentum in the ongoing COP16. 

In the conservation realm, these sorts of discoveries are referred to as “perverse subsidies”—over the long run, they tend to affect both environmental and economic outcomes. There is an irony is attached to these subsidies: governments allocate extensive public funding for razing forests that increase carbon emissions and affect climate patterns adversely, while also spending or investing millions of dollars on climate action efforts. Other examples of this sort of conundrum include subsidizing harmful chemical fertilizers, provisioning free electricity, and road transport subsidies. 

As a result, experts at COP16 have redirected attention to Target 18 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, calling for a phase out of $1.7 trillion of subsidies that harm biodiversity—and eventual elimination by 2030. Member states also must incorporate policy instruments that deter perverse subsidies in their national conservation plans, even if there are counter drivers such as short-term political gains that seem important. 

READ | The COP16 Opportunity: Bringing Biodiversity and Climate into Alignment? 

DRC’s Plans for its Fossil Fuel Blocks Unclear (Human Rights Watch) 

In 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) called for tenders to drill for oil and gas in 30 blocks across the country. But after a year, the government shut down 27 of these blocks, citing inadequate offers and a lack of competition. While this shift in DRC’s position has relieved environmental groups, the nation’s decision has left the fate of the remaining 3 fossil fuel blocks unclear. 

This confusion was further deepened last year when DRC began negotiations with Uganda, a neighboring oil-producing country, in hopes of connecting its blocks with the much-disputed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The EACOP is an ambitious 1,443 km crude oil export pipeline that will transport Uganda’s crude oil to Tanzania. Yet the pipeline is increasingly associated with inequitable land acquisition practices and ecological damage. A prominent ongoing EACOP-related case involves several NGOs suing the French company TotalEnergies for failing to protect human rights. 

Around 135 organizations, many based in DRC, joined a campaign called Notre Terre Sans Pétrole (Our Land Without Oil), which calls for a permanent end to these plans. Citing a lack of trust in the government’s claims on cancellation, the group’s recent statement requests to quash these plans toward securing Congolese land rights, food security, conserving biodiversity, and rural fisheries.  

READ | Going Beyond “Conflict-free”: Transition Minerals Governance in DRC and Rwanda 

Improving Traceability of Wildlife Trafficking in China (Mongabay) 

China is the epicenter of illicit wildlife trade, and the nation recently reduced the criminalization of transporting and purchasing captive-bred wildlife as pets, provided they were not intended for consumption. It is a ruling that faced international outcry. Following this relaxation of penalties, China does plan a new traceability system, but conservationists are still concerned about its overall effectiveness. 

China’s distinct traceability system involves creating markings (ID tags on bird leg rings or microchips inserted in reptiles) on protected wildlife species—including endangered birds such as the African gray parrot and critically endangered radiated tortoise. Activists are critical of these plans, noting that markings can instead increase the desirability to smuggle these animals into illegal markets, worsening achieved conservation efforts. 

Critics also cite the lack of scientific evidence and backing required to establish the legitimacy of the marking system. In urging China to recall this system, conservationists have called for strengthening wildlife conservation law enforcement. The relaxation of criminality in China comes with recurrent domestic outcry over high-profile illicit wildlife-related criminal cases. This intersection also underscores how cultural practices that influence wildlife management must be accounted for to increase its efficacy and long-term sustainability.  

READ | China’s First National Park: Managing Access and Benefits