Nature's way is best for controlling the gases responsible for climate change, the UN Environment Program said in a report on Friday.
The report said better management of forests, more careful agricultural practices and the restoration of peatlands could soak up significant amounts of carbon dioxide, the most common of the gases blamed for global warming.
'We need to move toward a comprehensive policy framework for addressing ecosystems,' said co-author Barney Dickson, releasing the report at the UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany. The event was Webcast worldwide.
Millions of dollars are being invested in research on capturing and burying carbon emissions from power stations, but investing in ecosystems could achieve cheaper results, the report said.
It would also have the added effects of preserving biodiversity, improving water supplies and boosting livelihoods.
Halving deforestation by mid-century and maintaining that lower rate for another 50 years would save the equivalent of five years of carbon emissions at the current level, said Dickson, the agency's head of climate change and biodiversity.
The loss of peatlands, mainly drained for palm oil and pulp wood plantations in South-East Asia, contributes eight per cent of global carbon emissions. China could capture about five per cent of its carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels by returning straw to croplands, it said.
Agriculture has the largest potential for storing carbon if farmers use better techniques, such as avoiding turning over the soil and using natural compost and manure rather than chemical fertilisers, it said.
(Sky News)
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