By EDDIE OSIFELO
ABOUT five groups from overseas who are interested to pay resource owners’ carbon from their forests, are in the country.
Minister for Forestry and Research, Dickson Mua Panakitasi warned resource owners who want to go into carbon trading, to seek assistance from the ministry before engaging in it, because of the high demand in the carbon trading market.
In response to Opposition Leader, Mathew Wale during the committee of supply of the 2023 budget in Parliament on Monday, Mua said under the PARIS agreement, there is an alliance that has a good price of US$50 per metric tonne.
Solomon Islands is a member of the Coalition for Rainforest nations (CFRN).
He said during his bilateral meeting in COP 27 in Egypt, the Alliance used satellite and shows that Solomon Islands has 120 million metric tonnes of carbon.
“With this carbon, one reason resource owners need to consult with the ministry.
“It is easy for these carbon buyers to come and buy on US$17 and lock you for 25 years not to cut your forest. They then go out and sell it to US$50 or US$60,” he said.
Wale said this is an emerging problem where there are speculators to buy and sale.
He said there needs to be a licensing regime so that the buyers don’t go to tribes and do it alone, but government must issue the license.
Mua said they need to work on policy and regulation as well the question of benefit sharing.
He earlier asked resource owners and stakeholders as you work on protecting the forests for carbon trading, liaise with his Ministry for updated information and how they can establish a national REDD+ Policy and REDD+ Regulation to protect you and our nation’s interest going forward
