diseases such as HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. It will work to: consolidate, analyse and coordinate information, map disease burden and responses, maximise resources, and coordinate efforts to defeat these diseases. The Disease Control Hub will focus on assisting and scaling up current initiatives and rapid response mobilisation.
Virgin Earth Challenge
In 2007 Richard put up $25 million US for the Virgin Earth Challenge, a prize for whoever can demonstrate, to the judges’ satisfaction, a commercially viable design for “air capture” which is in the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
The Challenge is judged by Al Gore, Sir Crispin Tickell, Jim Hanson, James Lovelock, Tim Flannery and Richard Branson. It has a simple mission, to reward the best applicant and help take their idea from prototype to a commercially viable business.
Air capture is one example of what many now call “geoengineering” - the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to address climate change. Whilst geoengineering is still a very young science it is attracting serious attention from both policy makers and the science community. The recent Royal Society report1
on geoengineering
supported Richard’s original thinking - these technologies could one day be important and although we hope that we never need them, now is the time to test their technical viability and resolve legal, ethical and political complications.
The deadline for entries passed in January 2010 and in total we received over 1200 - ranging from brilliant to eccentric! We are currently assessing the applications and the science behind air capture. We want to ensure that the prize is sensitive to the latest science and policy thinking. In aid of this we are therefore talking with the Royal Society, Oxford Institute of Geoengineering along with other experts around the world.
Many entries pointed out that trees and forests are fabulous sequestration machines. The logic is compelling and the irony depressing; while we search for cures to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere we simultaneously cut down swathes of natural carbon sequesters. Intellectually we have no disagreement with the rainforest advocates but the prize’s intention was to reward technological innovation. This observation however has motivated a company focus on forests, (for more information on forests read the next section).
www.virginearth.com
And the next big idea…
The coming year will also see a huge effort to bring all sectors together including businesses, social and government organisations and the global community to support the people of Zimbabwe. Virgin Unite is working closely with Richard and other partners to set up a trust in Zimbabwe to help facilitate the flow of philanthropic and commercial funds back into the country.
1. Royal Society (September 2009) Geoengineering the climate: science, governance and uncertainty (royalsociety.org/geoengineeringclimate)
FORESTS
It is widely accepted that reducing the rate of deforestation is fundamental to stabilising the global climate. The world simply
cannot meet the necessary greenhouse gas emission reduction targets without reducing deforestation, which is responsible for around .
17% of global greenhouse gas emissions1
At the current rate of deforestation (5% of the world’s tropical forests are cleared each decade2
) experts fear that many of the world’s
forests could be reduced to shadows of their previous size by the middle of the century .
Deforestation has a huge impact on climate change. Living forests act as carbon sinks and once destroyed by logging or fires become carbon sources, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere3
. Tropical forests
absorb up to 15% of annual man-made greenhouse gas emissions and 75% of the world’s living carbon is stored in forests4
. Deforestation has additional negative
impacts on climate change, as rainforests form clouds which in turn reflect solar heat. If the world is serious about tackling climate change, then preserving our remaining ancient forests has to be a priority5
the opposite is currently happening with tropical deforestation rates increasing6
year on year.
Deforestation results in the release of more than 7-8 billion tonnes of CO2 annually.
Source: IPCC, AR4 Synthetic Report (2007)
A few years ago humid tropical forests covered 12% of the planet’ they only cover 5%.
We’re losing an area the size of 36 football
pitches per
minute.
Source: Friends of the Earth (2009). Saving forests. http://www.foe.co.uk/cam- paigns/biodiversity/issues/ saving_forests_18269.html
. However,
s surface, now
Source: The Prince’s Rainforests Project. An Emergency Package for Tropical Forests. The Prince’s Charities. March 2009.
The Forest Trust (Photo by E. Parker)
1.
IPCC, AR4 Synthetic Report (2007)
2. Mongabay (2006) World bank says carbon trading will save rainforests. 23 October 2006. http:// news.mongabay.com/2006/1023-forests.html
3. Deforestation and climate change. Greenpeace UK. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/ climate-change
4. IPCC (2000) Land Use, land-use change and forestry. Special report. Watson, R.T., Noble, I.R., Bo- lin, B., Ravindranath, N.H., Verardo, D.J., Dokken, D.J. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): http://www.grida.no/Climate/ipcc/land_use/index.htm
5. Deforestation and climate change. Greenpeace UK. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/ climate-change
6. As a percentage of total forest cover.
77
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