COP27: More Than 25 Countries Launch Group To Ensure They Keep Their Promise To End Deforestation By 2030
COP27: At the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Egypt, more than 25 countries announced billions of dollars to finance their efforts to end deforestation by the end of the decade.
COP27: At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more than 25 countries launched a group they said would ensure the nations hold each other accountable for a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. The countries announced billions of dollars to finance their efforts to end deforestation by the end of the decade, news agency Reuters reported. The group was launched on November 7, the first day of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference or the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27). This year, the climate summit is being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
This first meeting of the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership was held a year after more than 140 leaders promised at COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Britain, to end deforestation by 2030. The partnership is chaired by Ghana and the United States.
Only a few countries have instituted more aggressive policies on deforestation and financing, as a result of which progress has been slow.
Countries which are a part of the new group
The new group launched on Monday includes Japan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Congo and others. These countries account for roughly 35 per cent of the world's forests and aim to meet twice a year to track progress in their journey towards the fulfillment of the pledge to end deforestation by the end of the decade.
However, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo are not a part of this group. The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is under increasing threat due to climate change, urban development and huge-scale farming, while the vast forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo are home to endangered wildlife including Gorillas.
"This partnership is a critical next step to collectively deliver on this promise and help keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C alive," COP26 President Alok Sharma said in a statement.
Around 22 per cent of the $12 billion in public money pledged at COP26 in Glasgow, for forests by 2025, has so far been expended, a Reuters report says.
Germany, a new source of financing, said it would double its financing for forests to two billion euros through 2025.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is also a member of the group. He said at COP27 that Colombia will spend $200 million annually for the next 20 years to save the Amazon rainforest. He also called on other countries to contribute.
Private companies to contribute as well to end deforestation
Private companies announced they would contribute $3.6 billion in extra money. The companies include investment firm SouthBridge Group. Together, a $2 billion fund for restoration efforts in Africa has been created. Africa is the region with the most tropical rainforests after South America.
Volkswagen Group and H&M Group signed up to a separate initiative called The Leaf Coalition, which was launched at COP26. As part of this initiative, governments and companies pay countries with tropical and subtropical forests for emissions reductions.
South Korea has agreed to be the first Asian government to provide finance for the coalition. The country has joined the founders Britain, Norway and the United States.
According to the report, 19 per cent of $1.7 billion promised to indigenous communities to promote land rights and forest protection had been paid out, a coalition of 25 governments and charities said.
Roughly half of the funds were routed through international non-governmental organisations, despite a promise to pay most of the money directly to local communities.
The coalition said that the fact that only seven per cent of the money went to community-led groups needs to be corrected.
Basiru Isa, regional secretary general for Central African indigenous organisation REPALEAC, said: "There should be nothing for us without us". Swiss asset manager GAM Investments, UK pension manager London CIV, SouthBride and Banco Estado de Chile had all joined the alliance, said a separate initiative by investors to push companies to eliminate deforestation by 2025.
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