COP26 climate summit: World leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030
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Over 100 global leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
In the first significant agreement reached at the COP26 climate summit, more than 100 global leaders on Monday pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.
On Tuesday, Brazil will be one of the signatories, since significant swaths of the Amazon rainforest have been logged.
Almost $19.2 billion in public and private contributions are included in the offer.
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Leaders from Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which together account for 85 percent of the world's forests, approved the unified declaration during the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow.
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According to a statement issued on behalf of the leaders by the UK Prime Minister's office, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use would embrace forests covering more than 13 million square miles.
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Experts applauded the initiative, but cautioned that a prior agreement in 2014 "failed to curb deforestation at all," and that promises must be kept.
Cutting down trees contributes to climate change by depleting forests, which absorb a large quantity of CO2.
If climate change is to be controlled, the two-week conference in Glasgow is viewed as critical.
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Deforestation will also be eliminated from the global trade of food and other agricultural goods such as palm oil, soya, and cocoa, according to the governments of 28 nations.
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These industries contribute to forest loss by chopping down trees to create room for livestock or crops.
More than 30 of the world's largest corporations have pledged to stop investing in deforestation-related operations.
(With inputs from agencies)
