NewsINBAR Statement at the UN Climate Conference COP 26
INBAR is an Observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and will be present in Glasgow at the upcoming conference, COP 26.
There is no pathway to a net-zero world without protecting and restoring nature. Healthy forests and sustainably managed landscapes can provide us with natural carbon sinks and a wealth of biobased products. They can be a critical way for countries to reach carbon neutrality, and to achieve related goals: reversing biodiversity loss, land degradation and deforestation.
INBAR is promoting the use of bamboo as an available, scalable and natural climate solution at the UN climate conference in Glasgow. Bamboo can be an important tool for climate change mitigation. Well-managed, regularly harvested bamboo forests can store a large carbon: in China, bamboo forest projects are already being included in carbon markets.
Moreover, bamboo provides an essentially renewable source of fibre: it matures within three to seven years, grows back after harvesting, and can be made into a wide range of durable, biobased products, from flooring and furniture to wind turbine blades and earthquake-resilient housing materials. These products can be a low- or even carbon-negative alternative to materials such as cement, steel, PVC and timber. Using bamboo can protect stressed timber resources, while promoting sustainable global trade and development in some of the poorest areas of the world.
Bamboo can be a common climate solution for many developing countries in the tropics and subtropics, where it covers more than 35 million hectares of land. Despite this, bamboo is often left out of most countries’ climate plans. It is one of many natural tools to be overlooked: only 3% of global climate finance is currently spent on nature-based solutions.
Since it was founded in 1997, the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation, INBAR, has been working to promote bamboo’s importance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. INBAR is an intergovernmental organisation made up of almost 50 Member States from Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific, and is an Observer to the UNFCCC. For almost 25 years, INBAR has raised awareness about bamboo and rattan as natural, sustainable materials for a low-carbon world: conducting research and project work to learn more about these plants’ uses and management, and building capacity and financial support among everyone from policy makers to rural communities.
During and after COP 26, INBAR stands ready to help its 48 Member States integrate bamboo into their Nationally Determined Contributions and carbon markets, and to scale up investments in sustainable bamboo products. In doing so, we hope to build a climate-stable, nature-based world.
- Ali Mchumo, Director General of INBAR
INBAR will be taking part in several events to showcase bamboo’s role for climate change at COP 26. Find out more here.
