World Leaders from 26 countries and the EU came together at the UN Climate summit (COP27) to launch the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). The Partnership will help to deliver the commitment made at last year’s summit in Glasgow by over 140 world leaders to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
Public and private finance for the world’s tropical forests was at the top of the agenda a the FCLP launch.
“Forest countries want to protect their natural resources – because it is in their own interest. But to deliver on our goals, we need to mobilize international financial incentives on a scale not seen before, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during his speech at the launch of the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership.”
Broad attendance
Public and private finance for the world’s forest was at the top of the agenda. Leaders from tropical forest countries including Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, Gabon’s President Ali Bongo, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo and Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde of DR Congo was present at the launch, where a group of donor countries’ heads of state, including Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission reported on their progress in delivering forest finance since last year.
Co-chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and former Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, pointed out the important role the financial sector plays in the shift to a deforestation-free economy together with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former Vice President, Al Gore and Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
On track to meet global pledges for forest finance
At COP26 in Glasgow, 12 public donors launched the Global Forest Finance Pledge (GFFP) to collectively provide USD 12 billion of climate finance to forests for 2021 -25. The numbers for 2021 show that we are on track. Total contributions towards the pledge over the 2021 calendar year was USD 2.6 billion, or 22% of the total pledge. More in the annual report.
Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, announced that Germany will be doubling its initial contribution to the Global Forest Finance Pledge to a total of 2 billion EUR.
“Our joint global commitment to halt deforestation and restore forests needs to be translated into concrete and scaled action on the ground that will benefit people, biodiversity and the climate, said Scholtz.”
Two further collective forest pledges were made at COP26, the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Forest Tenure Pledge and the Congo Basin Pledge.
Indigenous peoples’ rights is a key part of the solution
A group of 22 bilateral and philanthropic donors pleaded USD 1.7 billion for 2021-25 to advance forest tenure rights in tropical forest countries. In his speech at COP27 in Egypt, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that he saw reason for optimism. The donors are on track and have spent USD 321 million during the first year.
Støre also invited the summit to a moment of silence to commemorate the indigenous peoples, environmental defenders and journalists who every year lose their lives in their efforts to protect their rights and protect nature. According to Global Witness one environmental defender has been killed every other day for the last ten years.
An estimated 36% of the world’s remaining intact forests are on Indigenous Peoples’ lands. The intergovernmental panel on climate change has identified improved rights of indigenous peoples and local communities as an effective and critical strategy to protect forests.
Stepping up action in the Congo Basin
Last year’s COP26 also saw a step change in action to preserve the Congo Basin forests. Donors committed at least USD 1.5 billion to the Congo Basin forests and peatlands for 2021-25.The Central Africa’s Congo Basin forests play a critical role in the global ecosystem for both climate change and sustainable development. It is the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.
Over the course of 2021, the donors have collectively disbursed USD 311 million towards the Congo Basin Pledge. This is approximately one fifth of the 5-year pledge.
The LEAF Coalition makes big strides forward
The LEAF Coalition that Norway is part of together with the UK, USA and a number of world-leading companies, announced that its financial commitment now exceeds USD 1,5 billion dollars. This is a 100% increase in corporate support since last year.
Volkswagen Group and H&M Group become the latest global corporations to sign up with financial commitments to purchase high integrity emissions reductions credits from national or large-scale programs to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
Volkswagen Group and H&M Group join over twenty-five global corporations including Amazon, Salesforce, Bayer, Walmart, Unilever, Nestlé, Blackrock, E.ON and GSK in supporting LEAF.
Ecuador has become the first country to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Emergent, the coordinator of the LEAF Coalition. This agreement outlines the next steps and puts in place a clear roadmap and timetable for the signing of a binding Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) by the end of April 2023
The Republic of Korea becomes first Asian Government to provide financial support to the LEAF Coalition.
On track to meet global pledges for forest finance
Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, announced that Germany will be doubling its initial contribution to the Global Forest Finance Pledge to a total of 2 billion EUR.
“Our joint global commitment to halt deforestation and restore forests needs to be translated into concrete and scaled action on the ground that will benefit people, biodiversity and the climate, said Scholtz.”