COP27: Countries band together to keep forest promise
More than 25 countries at the COP27 climate talks on Monday launched a group they said would ensure they hold one another accountable for a pledge to end deforestation by 2030, and announced billions of dollars to finance their efforts. | The first meeting of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnershipis being chaired by Ghana and the United States. It takes place a year after more than 140 leaders promised at COP26 in Britain to end deforestation by the end of the decade. ● Progress since has been patchy, with only a few countries instituting more aggressive policies on deforestation and financing. The new group – which includes Japan, Pakistan, the Republic of Congo, and Britain – accounts for roughly 35 per cent of the world’s forests and aims to meet twice a year to track progress. Notable omissions from the group are Brazil, with its Amazon rainforest, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose vast forests are home to endangered wildlife including gorillas. ● Private cash piles up: Private companies announced US$3.6 billion in extra money. They include investment firm SouthBridge Group, creating a US$2 billion fund for restoration efforts in Africa, the region with the most tropical rainforest after South America. Volkswagen Group and H&M Group signed up to a separate initiative, The Leaf Coalition, launched at COP26, in which governments and companies pay countries with tropical and subtropical forests for emissions reductions.