{"id":25133,"date":"2025-10-30T18:55:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=25133"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:55:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:55:26","slug":"cop30-must-deliver-for-nature-and-forests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2025\/10\/30\/cop30-must-deliver-for-nature-and-forests\/","title":{"rendered":"COP30 in Brazil Must Deliver for Nature and Forests \u2013 And the Stakes Have Never Been Higher"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roselyn <\/span>Fosuah<\/span> Adjei\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Roselyn is a senior expert in REDD+, forest governance, and climate policy and a Distinguished Humphrey Fellow of the U.S State Department. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor to EDF\u2019s Forests team.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Waterfall<\/a>
Photo: Leslie Von Pless\/ EDF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us working in nature conservation think of the quickly approaching <\/span>COP30<\/span><\/a> in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, as the \u201cNature COP.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The last time that title was used was at COP26 in Glasgow \u2014 a post-pandemic gathering that re-energized climate action after a year of global lockdowns. Glasgow gave birth to the Lowering Emission\u2019s by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition\u2019s first Letters of Intent with tropical forest countries, signaling unprecedented forest-finance momentum in the voluntary carbon market through an unusual blend of public and private finance. It also saw the launch of the Glasgow Leaders\u2019 Declaration on Forests and Land Use, endorsed by over 140 countries pledging to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, and the UK-led Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which charted a path toward deforestation-free commodity supply chains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But even with these gains, the world has been falling short in recognizing and financing nature\u2019s role in sustaining a livable planet.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nature\u2019s Unequal Share<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Science is unequivocal: nature can deliver up to one-third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Yet, despite this potential, nature receives only <\/span>3\u20135% of global climate finance<\/span><\/a>. It continues to compete \u2014 often unsuccessfully \u2014 with other sectors for funding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The imbalance is indefensible. Failing to invest in forests and ecosystems is not only short-sighted \u2014 it is self-destructive. The hopes and stakes are therefore high for COP30: we must deliver tangible outcomes and progress for sustainable large-scale climate finance for nature.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s Ambition for a Forest COP<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Brazilian government has made clear its intent to make COP30 a turning point for nature. It has launched the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), expected to become operational in Bel\u00e9m with funding from both sovereign and private actors. The TFFF will reward tropical forest nations that maintain deforestation rates below 0.5%, paying $4 per hectare of standing forest and mobilizing up to $125 billion in investments. An important aspect of the TFFF, is the allocation of at least 20% of all payments received directly to IPLCs. At the recent UN General Assembly, President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, pledged $1 billion to seed the facility \u2014 a bold signal inviting others to follow.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The TFFF, is no doubt a \u201cCOP30 baby\u201d, to be born in full glory in Bel\u00e9m. However, it is envisaged to work hand in hand with seasoned initiatives such as jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD). Hence, the evident collaboration of the Brazilian Government with the Forests & Climate Leaders\u2019 Partnership (FCLP) and its roadmap for jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD) finance.\u00a0 It stands alongside another milestone: the $1.7 billion Forest Tenure Pledge, made by governments and philanthropies to strengthen Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) through direct finance and land rights.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stakes for COP30<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

COP30 must deliver a transformative leap in financing for forests and IPLCs. Tropical forest nations are rightly hoping for a COP with nature at the center \u2014 front, back, and sides. For too long, forest communities have sounded the alarm: finance must flow to address the <\/span>real<\/span><\/i> drivers of deforestation \u2014 illegal mining, logging, wildfires, and unsustainable agriculture \u2014 which today offer far higher short-term profits than conservation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The opportunity cost of protecting forests is immense. More than a billion people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods. For them, deforestation means the loss of ancestral heritage, identity, food, water, and security. In truth, we all depend on forests \u2014 every breath of oxygen is a quiet gift from nature. The alternative \u2014 a world that must artificially produce oxygen because natural systems like forests and oceans have been so degraded, and a potential growing reliance on artificial carbon removal \u2014 borders on dystopian.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If COP30 delivers the much-needed progress, it could redefine the trajectory of global forest finance and restore faith in multilateral action. Specifically:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n