Countries Step Up in Historic Agreement to Stop Deforestation

At the UN Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, leaders have vowed to halt deforestation by 2030 since healthy forests are crucial not only to store carbon, but also to filter water, cool the air, make rain, and sustain biodiversity.

“Preserving forests and other ecosystems can and should play an important role in meeting our ambitious climate goals,” says U.S. President Joe Biden at the COP26 Conference.

More than 100 leaders agree to undertake “transformative further action” to preserve some 85% of the world’s forests. Countries such as Brazil, China, Russia, and the United States have adhered to the deforestation agreement to slow global warming. “What we’re doing here is trying to change the economics on the ground to make forests worth more alive than dead,” says Eron Bloomgarden from Emergent. Indeed, 12 governments will invest $12 billion, and the private sector $7 billion, in reforestation efforts. A total of $1.7 billion will be granted to Indigenous peoples as a promise to “support for smallholders, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, who depend on forests for their livelihoods and have a key role in their stewardship.” Financial institutions will also stop any investment in companies responsible for deforestation.