November 14, 2022

Egypt _ Sharm el Sheikh

Important progress in sustainable forest management and conservation was made at the UN climate change cop 27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh with the launch of the forest and climate leaders partnership, which aims to unite action by governments, companies and community leaders.

The partnership aims to strengthen action to implement the commitment made by more than 140 countries at the cop26 in Glasgow last year to halt forest loss and land degradation by 2030 and turn ambition into results on the ground.

A major report published this year by the food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - the state of the world's forests 2022 - highlights the need to intensify work to unlock the potential of forests in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.

The goal of the Paris agreement to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels can be achieved only by intensifying efforts to reduce deforestation and implementing other mitigation activities in the forest sector.

Twenty-seven countries, representing more than 60 per cent of global GDP and 33 per cent of the world's forests, have already joined Nepad and are committed to setting an example in one or more of the partnership's areas of work.

This includes mobilizing public and donor funding to support implementation, supporting Indigenous and local community initiatives, and stimulating the conservation of high-integrity forests.

"This alliance is an opportunity to implement solutions that reduce deforestation, increase forest restoration and enhance the livelihoods of people living in forest areas,"said Gustavo Manrique Miranda, Minister of Environment and water of Ecuador.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on behalf of the EU: "only with healthy forests can we fulfill our common climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. And only with healthy and vibrant forests can we tackle biodiversity.”

Government representatives gathered at the cop 27 announced that of the 12 billion dollars committed in Glasgow for the protection and restoration of forests during 2021-2025, 2.67 billion dollars have already been spent and public and private donors have pledged 4.5 billion dollars since the cop 26.

To ensure accountability, the party will hold annual meetings and publish an annual global progress report that includes independent assessments of global progress towards the 2030 goal, and the progress made by the party itself.

At the same time, developing countries are taking ongoing concrete actions to protect forests within the framework of the mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The REDD + programme provides a comprehensive framework for Forest Climate Action, including through the provision of results-based payments for emissions reductions achieved in the forest sector. The renewed political and financial commitment to Forest Climate Action demonstrated at cop27 is creating new momentum to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The framework for measuring, reporting and verifying forest-related emissions under the United Nations climate change framework, contained in the Paris Agreement, is a guide for all mitigation actions in the forest sector, regardless of the source of results-based financing.

Some 60 developing countries are already implementing Redd + activities under the United Nations climate change framework, resulting in more than nine gigatonnes of verified emission reductions.

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