More than 100 countries, representing more than 85% of the planet’s forests, will commit on Tuesday, November 2 to halt and reverse the course of deforestation and land degradation by 2030, the British government announced on Monday, part of an agreement reached during the COP26 in Glasgow (Scotland, United Kingdom). Among the signatories of this agreement are France, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia.
As part of this agreement, twelve countries, including France, will commit to jointly mobilize 8.75 billion pounds ($ 12 billion) of public funds between 2021 and 2025, to which should be added 5.3 billion pounds ($ 7.2 billion) of private investment. Of these funds, 1.1 billion pounds ($ 1.5 billion) will be earmarked to protect the Congo Basin, which is home to the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon.
In addition, the CEOs of more than 30 financial institutions, representing more than $ 8.7 trillion in global assets – including Aviva, Schroders and Axa – will pledge to phase out investments in deforestation-related activities.
According to the British government’s note on this agreement released on Monday evening, it is the “biggest step forward in protecting the world’s forests in a generation”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentions in this note “a historic agreement to protect and restore the forests of the earth”. Evoking “unprecedented commitments”, he perceives this agreement as “a chance to put an end to the long history of humanity as a predator of nature in order, on the contrary, to become its guardian”.