World leaders at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) have renewed their commitment to halt and reverse global deforestation by 2030, announcing fresh financial pledges, forest restoration initiatives and measures to strengthen Indigenous communities’ land rights.
The leaders, representing major forest-rich countries and international partners, warned that the world must move beyond political declarations and accelerate the implementation of existing commitments if forests are to remain a critical defence against climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.
The commitments were reaffirmed during a high-level summit co-hosted by Brazil, Guyana, Norway, the Republic of Congo and the United Kingdom, with support from the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP).
Among those attending were Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
With only four years remaining to achieve the 2030 global forest goal, the summit focused on mobilising long-term financing, expanding restoration programmes and ensuring that countries and communities protecting forests receive tangible economic benefits.
Despite their importance in addressing climate change, forests currently receive less than one per cent of global climate finance, although they offer approximately one-fifth of the world’s cost-effective climate mitigation potential.
The funding gap has raised concerns about whether existing international commitments can translate into sufficient action to protect forests, particularly in developing countries where conservation competes with economic pressures and demand for natural resources.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva said political commitment must be accompanied by financial resources and international cooperation.
“Our challenge is bringing together political will, financial resources, and fostering the necessary international cooperation to defend forests and the populations that live in these biomes,” Lula said.
He described forest protection as an essential contribution to shielding the planet from the damaging effects of climate change.
Forest finance emerges as a central priority
A major focus of the summit was the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), an initiative designed to mobilise long-term financing for countries that conserve standing tropical forests.
Brazil’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco, speaking on behalf of Lula, highlighted the country’s leadership in developing the facility and presented its national roadmap for halting and reversing deforestation by 2030.
Brazil also reported progress in reducing deforestation in the Amazon and expanding protected areas.
Norway announced an extension of its International Climate and Forests Initiative to 2035, reaffirming its support for the TFFF.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Norway was prepared to contribute up to 20 per cent of the facility’s initial capitalisation target of US$10 billion.
He said carbon markets and the TFFF could help expand and sustain forest conservation initiatives while supporting countries pursuing sustainable development.
“This is not about making each hectare of forests worth more in commercial terms,” Støre said.
Adding that, “the objective was to support sustainable development pathways rather than compensate for continuing environmentally damaging economic activities.”
The Netherlands also reaffirmed its commitment to contribute US$500 million over ten years to the facility.
Vice Minister of International Cooperation Steven Collet said the funding would constitute a junior capital contribution to the TFFF, describing the initiative as an important development in international climate finance.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, reaffirmed Britain’s intention to invest up to £400 million in the facility and called for full implementation of the FCLP’s Forest Finance Roadmap.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and Energy, Hashim S. Djojohadikusumo, announced that his country had joined the FCLP and reaffirmed Indonesia’s US$1 billion commitment to the TFFF.
Indonesia also reported allocating 8.3 million hectares for social forestry as part of efforts to strengthen community land rights and support forest restoration.
Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo highlighted the growing role of jurisdictional REDD+ carbon markets in financing forest conservation.
He said more than 30 airlines were purchasing Guyana’s forest carbon credits, with revenues expected to exceed US$100 million in 2026 while twenty per cent of the revenues are directed towards Indigenous communities.
Jagdeo said the challenge was to change the economic realities facing forest countries and communities.
“Between us we have the financing options and now we must turn these advantages into action at the scale and speed the world requires,” he said.
World Bank backs restoration of 150 million hectares
Beyond national financing commitments, the World Bank Group announced support for restoring 150 million hectares of forest by 2035.
World Bank Group Vice President Guangzhe Chen called for more strategic use of public finance to attract private-sector investment and accelerate restoration.
Philanthropic organisations also announced additional support for the TFFF.
Kate Hampton, chief executive of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), announced collective philanthropic commitments of US$88 million, including US$15 million from CIFF, alongside a further US$12 million commitment from the foundation.
Ghana also reported progress in its forest carbon financing programme.
Dr Hugh C.A. Brown, Chief Executive of Ghana’s Forestry Commission, representing the country’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, announced the issuance of approximately 6.5 million verified carbon credits under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions’ TREES standard.
The credits represent emissions reductions achieved between 2017 and 2021 and are expected to unlock approximately US$43 million in initial payments from buyers, including the LEAF Coalition.
Congo Basin and Africa’s restoration ambitions
The summit also highlighted the United Nations Decade of Afforestation and Reforestation, scheduled to run from 2027 to 2036 and spearheaded by the Republic of Congo.
The initiative is intended to strengthen international cooperation and investment in restoring degraded landscapes while protecting existing forests.
Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi reaffirmed his country’s commitment to balancing forest conservation with sustainable development.
He emphasised that forest financing should deliver practical benefits, particularly for women and young people, and highlighted plans to plant 1,000 square kilometres of forest.
“The destruction of these ecosystems has had a considerable environmental and economic cost and we have made a choice to conserve the forests,” Tshisekedi said.
In neighbouring Republic of Congo, Minister of Forest Economy Rosalie Matondo highlighted progress under the country’s national programme targeting one million hectares of planted forests.
She reported that more than 14 million trees had already been planted, while over 27 per cent of the country’s territory had been allocated to national parks and biodiversity conservation.
Matondo called for governments to replace declarations with measurable restoration outcomes.
Ethiopia’s Minister of National Strategy, Bereket Fesehatsion, highlighted the country’s Green Legacy Initiative and the Green Legacy and Landscape Restoration Fund as mechanisms supporting afforestation and landscape restoration.
Ethiopia is expected to assume the COP32 presidency.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira also reaffirmed his country’s commitment to forest protection, highlighting progress in reducing forest fires and the importance of the Amazon as a critical freshwater source.
Indigenous land rights remain a financing challenge
While governments announced substantial financial commitments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities remained central to discussions about who benefits from forest conservation.
Despite their important role in protecting forests, Indigenous Peoples and local communities receive less than one per cent of international climate finance dedicated to recognising their rights and supporting community forest management.
The summit highlighted the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, launched at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, which seeks to recognise and strengthen land and forest rights across 160 million hectares by 2030.
Nigeria announced its Securing Nigeria’s Forest Future Country Package, outlining plans to strengthen forest protection, restoration and sustainable livelihoods through public and private financing, including green bonds.
However, Fany Kuiru Castro, co-lead of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, cautioned that communities needed more than government promises.
“We do not need to return with new announcements and we need to return with recognized rights, funding that reaches us directly, and guarantees that allow us to defend our territories without putting lives at risk,” she said.
Her remarks underscored the importance of direct community participation and secure territorial rights in achieving global forest conservation targets.
Wildfire prevention and the road to 2030
As part of efforts to strengthen international cooperation, Türkiye announced the Antalya Action Plan on Integrated Fire Management.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said the voluntary framework would encourage countries to share knowledge, improve preparedness and prioritise wildfire prevention rather than concentrating primarily on emergency responses.
Looking ahead, leaders identified 2027 as a critical year for mobilising additional investments through international processes, including the G20, World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings and the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.
The summit also marked five years since the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use was endorsed at COP26.
As Guyana and the United Kingdom prepare to hand over their FCLP co-chair responsibilities to Germany and Costa Rica in 2027, leaders stressed that achieving the 2030 forest goal will depend on implementation, accountability and sustained financing.
The central challenge remains whether billions of dollars in announced commitments, carbon market revenues and restoration programmes will translate into measurable reductions in forest loss and lasting benefits for communities.
For forest-rich countries, particularly across Africa’s Congo Basin, the coming years will test whether international climate finance can make standing forests economically viable while protecting the rights and livelihoods of the people who depend on them.
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