Iran Press/ Europe: More than 100 global leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by US$19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
The joint statement at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow was backed by the leaders of countries including Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which collectively account for 85 percent of the world’s forests.
Counties including Brazil, Russia, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will sign the pledge on Tuesday, which is backed by £14bn ($19.2bn) in public and private funding.
Forests play an essential role in fighting the climate crisis, absorbing vast amounts of planet-heating carbon dioxide from the air, and providing food, jobs and homes.
Yet this natural climate buffer is rapidly disappearing. The world lost 258,000 square km of forest in 2020, according to WRI’s deforestation tracking initiative Global Forest Watch. 219
