Leaders more than 100 countries account for 85 percent of the world’s forests, on Tuesday (November 2) to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 as part of the COP26 conference in Glasgow. This is the first agreement for the summit.
The declaration includes claims to reverse the process of deforestation and soil degradation by 2030. Nearly £14 billion ($19.2 billion) will be allocated to this goal, of which 8.75 billion will come from 12 highly developed countries (including Great Britain). ) and 5.3 billion – from 30 private sector companies.
Among the signatories there were, among others, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Glasgow leaders’ announcement will cover more than 13 million square miles of forest, according to statment British Prime Minister’s Office.
In addition, the UK will also provide £200 million, along with 11 other donors, under a new £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) fund to protect the Congo Basin.
“We will have the opportunity to end humanity’s long history as the conqueror of nature and instead become its custodians,” he said. Boris JohnsonHe described the agreement as “unprecedented.”
Forests are the lungs of the earth
as organisation The nonprofit World Resources Institute, forests absorb about 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions preventing climate warming. However, in 2020 alone, the world lost 258,000 square kilometers of forest, according to data from WRI Global Forest Watch, an area larger than the size of the United Kingdom.
Governments representing 75% of global trade in commodities that could threaten forests – such as palm oil, cocoa and soybeans – will also sign a new Declaration on Forestry, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT).
28 leaders will commit to actions to promote sustainable trade, support agriculture, and improve the transparency of supply chains. Today, nearly a quarter (23%) of global emissions come from land use activities such as logging, deforestation, and agriculture.
The agreement significantly extends a similar commitment made by 40 countries under the New York Declaration on Forests in 2014. It promised to halve tropical deforestation and restore 150 million hectares of forest by 2020, but experts note that the agreement has not reduced the pace of deforestation. .
