COP30: Belgium supports fund to protect tropical forests, but not contributing yet
Belgium supports the new Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) fund, which aims to stop deforestation by rewarding countries for preserving their tropical forests, but will not contribute for the time being. Brazilian president Lula da Silva launched the TFFF on Thursday at the Global Leaders Summit, the meeting of heads of state and government leaders on the eve of the UN climate summit COP30.
The aim of the new fund is to mobilise both public and private resources and invest them. The proceeds will then go partly to investors and partly to countries that perform well in the fight against deforestation. This progress will be monitored using satellite data. In addition, one-fifth of the funds will have to be earmarked for indigenous peoples and local communities.
Brazil hopes to initially mobilise 125 billion dollars, 25 billion in public funds and 100 billion in private funds. This will provide countries with 4 dollars per hectare of protected forest. Brazil itself has already pledged 1 billion to the fund. Norway, Indonesia and France are among the other countries that have already come forward with contributions. After the first day, the total tally already stands at more than 5.5 billion dollars.
Belgium is also on the list of 53 countries supporting the TFFF. The office of federal climate minister Jean-Luc Crucke confirms that Belgium has signed the document, although no contribution is planned. However, the possibility of making contributions in the future is being considered.
1.5 degrees Celsius threshold
On Friday, the European Earth observation service Copernicus - following the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) - confirmed that 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year on record. This would mean that the average for the past three years would exceed the symbolic 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for the first time.
"This underlines the accelerated climate change and the urgent need for action"
“We are now in the decade in which the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit is likely to be exceeded. This underlines the accelerated climate change and the urgent need for action,” said Samantha Burgess of Copernicus.
Under the Paris Climate Agreement, it was agreed to keep global warming below 2 degrees by the end of the century and preferably below 1.5 degrees. One or more years above 1.5 degrees does however not mean that the limit has been exceeded, as the average over a longer period of time is taken into account for that.
Illustration © PHOTO Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP
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