Historic Climate Summit Agreement to Reduce Deforestation

So far it is the most optimistic deal from COP26 in Glasgow. Leaders of more than 100 countries, representing more than 85% of the world’s forests, pledged on Tuesday to end deforestation by 2030. Among those who signed the agreement is Brazil, with its vital importance Amazon, the lung of the world.

“This is the greatest advance in protecting the world’s forests in a generation,” the British Presidency of COP26which started on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.

In a statement, they announced “Historic” participation of more than 100 leaders To end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.

Among the countries involved are Canada, Russia, Brazil (which includes 60% of the Amazon rainforest), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All areas with an area of ​​more than 13 million square kilometers. Brazil’s support is crucial, to stop Devastation Amazon.

Millionaire Investments

According to the British Presidency, which will formalize the announcement on Tuesday in Glasgow, and in the presence of the leaders of Colombia, Indonesia and the United States in particular, 8,750 million pounds (about 10.30 million euros) of public funds will be allocated for this purpose. Project.

France and 11 other countries will participate. EGP 5.3 billion will be mobilized from private investments. Of this amount, one billion will be allocated to protect the Congo Basin, which includes the second largest tropical forest in the world.

“With his unprecedented promises, we will have the opportunity to end mankind’s long history as the conqueror of nature, to become its guardian,” said the British prime minister. Boris Johnson, who remembers that forests are the “lungs” of our planet.

It absorbs about a third of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted each year from the combustion of fossil fuels.

Deforestation and destruction

Deforestation wreaking havoc. Fewer forests means less carbon is sequestered in the atmosphere. Not to mention that this situation also increases emissions from forests, which release carbon when wood is burned.

recent report from UNESCO He noted that since the turn of the millennium, ten symbolic forests of the planet emit more carbon dioxide than they sequester. This is the case of Yosemite National Park in the United States.

World leaders struck the pact, which aims to halt and reverse global deforestation over the next decade, as part of a multi-million dollar package to tackle human-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Support key

head of china, Xi Jinping, one from Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and the United States Joe Biden They are among the leaders who pledged in the statement at COP26 in Glasgow on Tuesday to protect vast areas, ranging from the eastern Siberian taiga to the Congo Basin, which contains the second largest rainforest in the world.

considered dezmont land by humans it accounts for nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. It is largely derived from the destruction of the world’s forests for agricultural products such as palm oil, soybeans and livestock.

By signing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the chief ministers and chief ministers of major producers and consumers of deforestation-related products will commit to protecting forest ecosystems.

Boris Johnson revealed the agreement on the second and final day of the summit. An event that will include the President of the United States, the Prince of Wales and the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.

“These great ecosystems, cathedrals of nature, are the lungs of our planet. Forests support communities, livelihoods and food supplies, and absorb the carbon we pump into the atmosphere. They are essential to our survival,” the British Prime Minister said.

The commitment to nature and forests comes as more than 120 world leaders gathered in Glasgow Make new commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, amid fears that major countries will not escalate.

Victoria Barra Boris Johnson

On a day dedicated to speeches by presidents and prime ministers that highlighted the scale of challenges ahead, Johnson said future generations would “judge us bitterly” if the conference failed.

India has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2070. Although this is the first time the world’s third-largest polluter has set this target, and experts said it was a realistic commitment, it is 20 years behind the 2050 date agreed by other developed countries. .

President Biden cautioned that more urgency was needed in the talks: “For now, we are falling short. There is no time to fall back, sit on the sidelines, or argue with each other.”

Deforestation commitments are An early victory for the United Kingdom, As the host country, it has a responsibility to forge a consensus among the nearly 200 nations present, amid concerns that a comprehensive commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by the 45% scientists say is needed in this decade is needed.

side agreements

Political statement, which is voluntary and not part of Paris operation, is one of a series of parallel agreements, which the UK presidency is seeking at the climate summit in Glasgow, along with others on methane, cars and coal.

The package includes £5.3 billion of new private funding and £8.75 billion of public funds to restore degraded lands, support indigenous communities, protect forests and mitigate damage from bushfires.

A commitment to eliminate deforestation-related activities and the UK government’s £1.5 billion funding for forests is part of the deal.

Another £350 million will go to Indonesia and £200 million to the Congo Basin, with a new £1.1 billion fund for West African rainforests.

Although the Forestry Agreement with to caution By environmental and forest governance experts, they point to past agreements to save forests that have so far failed to stop their destruction, including in 2014.

But this time, the European Union, China, the United States and forest nations such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea will sign the pledge.

Jair Bolsonaro and Vladimir Putin, video

Russian President Russian President Vladimir Putin He was not in Glasgow, but said in a video that the promise of deforestation “will undoubtedly serve to achieve the goals of reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, set out in the Paris Agreement”.

Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro too was absent. In the video he sent, he said, “Forests are important to me because they cover more than 60% of my country.” It is “a source of health and life and is home to the greatest natural wealth and biodiversity on the planet.”

“We are committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2030,” he added.

“I call on all countries to help defend all forests, allocate sufficient resources for the benefit of all,” asked President Bolsonaro, who is accused of destroying the Amazon, at last.

Paris correspondent

CB