World Leaders Commit To Addressing Forest Loss

More than 100 world leaders signed a declaration Monday committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, according to Anadolu Agency.

Photo Insert: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and UN Secretary General António Guterres were among the world leaders present at COP26.

Under the agreement, 12 countries also pledged to spend USD12 billion in public funds between 2021 and 2025 to protect and restore forests and an additional USD7.2 billion will be provided by private investors.

The announcement of the Leader's Declaration on Forests and Land Use came on the first day of the official opening of the leaders' summit of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which will run until Nov. 12.

COP26 gathered around 120 leaders by launching two weeks of global negotiations to help determine whether humanity can drive forward the urgent action needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.

The main agenda is to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages by the end of the century. The actions to reduce emissions need to start now to be able to cut them by 50 percent by 2030 to reach the target.

The leaders’ declaration included commitments to conserve forests and other terrestrial ecosystems as well as to accelerate their restoration. The leaders agreed on reducing vulnerability, building resilience, and enhancing rural livelihoods along with implementing and redesigning agricultural policies to incentivize sustainable agriculture.

The declaration also reaffirmed the alignment of financial flows with international goals to reverse forest loss and degradation.

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