Continue reading More than 100 world leaders committed to halting and reverseing forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
The pledge, at a Cop26 event hosted by Boris Johnson yesterday, amounts to almost £14billion in public and private funding.
Forests are the lungs on the planet. They absorb about one-third of the global CO2 from fossil fuels each year. However, we are losing them at an alarming pace.
Every minute, a forest area that is the same size as 27 football pitches is lost.
Countries endorsing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use pledge include heavily forested nations such as Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Together, they contain 85 per cent of the world’s forests, an area of more than 13million square miles.
The Prime Minister said: ‘Today, at Cop26, leaders have signed a landmark agreement to protect and restore the Earth’s forests.
Boris Johnson hosted yesterday’s Cop26 event, where the pledge to reverse forest loss and land degradation was made. The pledge amounts to almost £14billion in public and private funding
Forests are the planet’s lungs. They absorb around one third of the CO2 released each year from fossil fuel burning. But, they are being lost at an alarming rate. Each minute, a forest area equal to 27 football pitches is lost. (pictured: Deforestation in Brazil 2021).
‘These great teeming ecosystems – these cathedrals of nature – are the lungs of our planet. Forests are essential for the survival of communities, livelihoods, and food supply. They also absorb carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. They are essential for 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.’
The UK will commit £1.5billion over five years to support the forests pledge, including £350million for tropical forests in Indonesia, and £200million for the Leaf Coalition, which finances replanting forests.
The UK will also contribute £200million, alongside 11 other donors, as part of a new £1.1billion fund to protect the Congo Basin.
The area is home to the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, which is threatened by industrial logging, mining and agriculture.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo said: ‘Indonesia is blessed as the most carbon-rich country in the world on vast rainforests, mangroves, oceans and peatlands. We are committed to protecting these important carbon sinks and our natural resources for future generations.
‘We call on all countries to support sustainable development paths that strengthen the livelihoods of communities – especially indigenous, women and smallholders.’
Countries endorsing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use pledge include heavily forested nations such as Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (pictured: cattle graze on deforested land in Brazil, August 2020)
Colombian president Ivan Duque said: ‘Colombia is proud to endorse the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. This declaration is a landmark agreement by countries to work together to eliminate deforestation, all forms of land degradation, and to prevent them from doing so in the next ten years.
‘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 make it a law to commit to net-zero forest destruction by 2030 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.’
Indonesian president Joko Widodo said: ‘Indonesia is blessed as the most carbon-rich country in the world on vast rainforests, mangroves, oceans and peatlands. We are committed to protecting these crucial carbon sinks and our natural resources for future generations.
Campaigners welcomed the initiative. Justin Adams, executive director of the World Economic Forum’s Tropical Forest Alliance, said: ‘What we’re seeing at Cop26 could finally be the start of something transformational when it comes to stopping deforestation.
‘If we fail to stop deforestation, we will fail to limit climate change. The Glasgow declaration provides a strong political signal, and the powerful collective force of business and finance which aligns considerable economic muscle with these efforts, can shift our food and land use system in a way that we desperately need – for farmers, for consumers and for the planet.’
Nigel Purvis, CEO of Climate Advisers, said: ‘Glasgow is the biggest moment for forests and nature since Paris in 2015. More countries are making bold commitments to implement nature-based strategies.
‘Glasgow is also producing the largest ever financial incentives for protecting forests, with unprecedented commitments from donor nations, investors and companies.’
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