COP26: Brazil supports international declaration to protect forests

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian government expressed on Tuesday (2) its support to the international declaration of world leaders to preserve forests and reduce deforestation and land degradation by 2030. The announcement is part of an agreement reached during the United Nations Climate Summit (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

According to the Ministry of Environment, almost a quarter (23%) of global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) come from agriculture and the timber industry. Together, the more than 100 signatory countries of the historic commitment, such as Russia, the United States, China, Australia, and France, concentrate more than 85% of the world’s forests, an area of more than 21 million square kilometers.

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The announcement of the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use” took place at an event called by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with the participation of US President, Joe Biden, and the President of the European Union (EU) Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and foresees the equivalent of around R$108 (US$20) billion in public and private funding.

Part of the resources will come from financing by 12 countries – such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, South Korea, members of the European Union, Canada, and Japan – with about R$68 billion expected by 2025. The objective is to support initiatives in developing countries, including restoring degraded lands, fighting forest fires, and supporting the rights of indigenous communities.

The private sector – represented at COP26 by CEOs from more than 30 financial institutions – will be responsible for another R$41 billion in financing. Of this total, R$17 billion should go to the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado, and Chaco (IFACC) initiative, promoting deforestation-free soy and cattle production in Latin America. Leaders of these institutions will also commit to no longer investing in activities linked to deforestation.

DECLARATION

The joint declaration will be adopted by more than 100 countries where 85% of the world’s forests are located, including Canada’s boreal forest, the Amazon rainforest, and the rainforest of the Congo Basin. The initiative’s goal is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the average values of the pre-industrial era.

The signatories also reaffirm their commitments to the Paris Agreement and other international environmental treaties. In addition, they recognize that achieving sustainable development goals will require further integration efforts between production, consumption, infrastructure, trade, finance, and investment.

The declaration also mentions support for farmers, indigenous peoples, and communities that depend on these biomes to survive – a population estimated at around 1.6 billion people worldwide.