GLOBAL LEADERS STRIKE FORESTS AGREEMENT AT COP26

 

105 leaders from across the globe have signed a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. the landmark declaration was announced today (november 2, 2021) at the COP26 climate summit that’s currently underway in glasgow, scotland. 

 

the commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation will be supported by £8.75 billion ($12bn) of public funding from 12 countries alongside £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion) of private investment from 30 financial companies, including aviva, schroders, and axa.

 

part of the money will go towards a new £1.1 billion ($1.5bn) fund to protect the congo basin, which is home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest after the amazon. the funding will also be used to support indigenous communities and to develop profitable sustainable agriculture. 28 countries representing 75% of global trade in key commodities that threaten forests – such as palm oil, cocoa and soya – will also sign a new forests, agriculture and commodity trade (FACT) statement to promote sustainable commodity production. 

 

countries that have signed the agreement make up 85% of the world’s forests, including china, brazil, canada, colombia, and indonesia. see the full declaration and list of countries here.

 

in a press release, the UK government has called the pledge ‘the biggest step forward in protecting the world’s forests in a generation.’  british prime minister boris johnson is expected to say at the forest & land use event at COP26 today, ‘these great teeming ecosystems – these cathedrals of nature – are the lungs of our planet. forests support communities, livelihoods and food supply, and absorb the carbon we pump into the atmosphere. they are essential to our very survival.’

 

‘with today’s unprecedented pledges, we will have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian.’

 

president of colombia iván duque added, ‘never before have so many leaders, from all regions, representing all types of forests, joined forces in this way and colombia is committed to playing its part. we will enshrine in law a commitment to net-zero deforestation by 2030 – one of the most ambitious commitments in latin america – and to protecting 30% of our land and ocean resources by 2030.’

 

‘now we must all work in partnership with businesses, the finance sector, smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples and local communities to create the conditions for forest-positive economies to grow and thrive.’

 

 

main image by @botanicalnature via unsplash