Leaders from 26 countries and the European Union (EU) recently came together to launch the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) at the inaugural Forest and Climate Leaders’ Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The partnership will be co-chaired by the United States and Ghana, who will preside over its first ministerial meeting on November 12.
It will help deliver the commitment made at COP26 by over 140 world leaders to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation. It will unite action by government, business and community leaders, said a UK government press release.
These actions are fundamental to adapting to climate change and have the potential to deliver up to 30 per cent of the emissions reductions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, while securing global biodiversity, economic prosperity and food supplies.
FCLP’s action areas are international collaboration on the sustainable land use economy; mobilising public and donor finance to support implementation; shifting the private finance system; supporting indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ initiatives; strengthening and scaling carbon markets for forests; and partnerships and incentives for preserving high-integrity forests.
Member countries represent the northern forests of Canada, the tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of the Amazon, Australasia, Africa and Asia, and the financial and economic centres of the world.
Members will work closely with the private sector, civil society, international and multilateral organisations and community leaders to implement and rapidly scale up solutions on deforestation, forest degradation, reforestation and sustainable forest and land use management, that reflect each members’ national context and priorities as well as the urgency of the global climate and biodiversity crises.
FCLP member nations are Australia, Canada, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union, Finland, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, Sweden, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, the United State and Vietnam.
“For too long the world’s forests have been undervalued and underestimated. They are one of the great natural wonders of our world, and with the loss of our forests accounting for more than 10 per cent of global emissions, protecting them is one of the best ways of getting us back on track to 1.5 degrees,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“Let’s build on what we have achieved and together secure this incredible legacy for our children and the many generations to come,” he added.
