More than 100 world leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030

(Patria) - More than 100 world leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, backed by $19 billion in public and private funds.

The declaration on forests and land use will cover forests spanning more than 13 million square miles, and the joint statement at the United Nations climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow was supported by, among others, Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose territories contain vast expanses of tropical rainforest.

On behalf of the leaders, the declaration was announced by the office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who described it as an unprecedented agreement. “We will have the chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror and instead become its guardian,” Johnson said, as reported by Hina.

According to the non-profit organization World Resources Institute (WRI), forests absorb approximately 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.

However, this “natural climate buffer” is rapidly disappearing, and according to WRI data, the world lost 258,000 square kilometers of forest in 2020, an area larger than the United Kingdom.

Monday’s agreement significantly expands a similar commitment made earlier by 40 countries under the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests and goes further than ever before in allocating resources to achieve this goal, Reuters reports.

Under the agreement, 12 countries, including Britain, have pledged to provide 8.75 billion pounds ($12 billion) in public funding between 2021 and 2025 to help developing countries, including efforts to restore degraded land and combat wildfires.

At least an additional 5.3 billion pounds would be provided by more than 30 private sector investors, including companies Aviva, Schroders and AXA.

Investors, who collectively manage assets worth around $8.7 trillion, have also committed to stop investing in activities linked to deforestation by 2025, including the production of beef, palm oil, soy and pulp.

Five countries, including Britain and the United States, along with a group of global charitable organizations, have also pledged $1.7 billion to support indigenous peoples in forest conservation and strengthening their land rights.

The key goal of the Glasgow conference is to make decisions that would keep the temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with scientists saying forests and so-called “nature-based solutions” will be vital to achieving this goal.

According to data from the Biomass Carbon Monitor project, forests have removed about 760 million tons of carbon each year since 2011, offsetting about eight percent of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and cement.