海角大神

A new alliance of聽rainforest聽nations 鈥撀爏ought by聽Brazil鈥檚聽President-elect Luiz In谩cio聽Lula聽da Silva 鈥� could be key to unlocking conservation聽funding聽and bolstering a flagging global forest pact at the聽COP27聽climate summit, environmentalists say.

Before narrowly winning聽Brazil鈥檚聽run-off election vote on Oct. 30,聽Lula 鈥� as Brazil鈥檚 new president is universally known 鈥撀燽egan reaching out to Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) about forming a聽united front of tropical forest countries, according to a top aide of the leftist leader.

In the run-up to the聽COP27聽U.N. climate summit, starting Sunday taking place in Egypt until Nov. 18, green groups urged Brazil and other forest聽nations聽to team up to increase their bargaining power during talks with potential donors over聽rainforest聽protection.

鈥淎n alliance of countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and the DRC 鈥� who all face similar threats 鈥� can put pressure on richer countries to accelerate efforts to stop deforestation,鈥� said Annisa Rahmawati, head of Indonesian conservation group Satya Bumi, noting聽Lula鈥檚 pledge to put forest protection at the heart of his economic plans and policies.

Cutting down forests has major implications for global goals to curb planetary warming, as trees absorb about a third of the climate-heating carbon emissions produced worldwide, but release the carbon they store when they rot or are burned.

Forests also provide food and livelihoods, clean the air and water, support human health, are an essential habitat for wildlife, regulate rainfall and offer flood protection.

But as forest-rich countries grapple with energy and food price pressures linked to Russia鈥檚 war on Ukraine, on top of fiscal pain from the COVID-19 pandemic,聽tapping into natural resources is seen by many as a solution.

Last year, an area of tropical forest the size of the Netherlands was lost, according to monitoring service Global Forest Watch, with Brazil seeing the highest rates of deforestation.

Lula聽hopes聽to turn that around, promising in his election victory speech to tackle the illegal logging, mining and land-grabbing that have driven surging Amazon deforestation over the past four years under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

鈥淗aving such a strong voice [like聽Lula]聽in any future alliance would amplify and accelerate efforts to shift to just and climate-friendly economic development, while ensuring our forests remain standing,鈥� said Ms. Rahmawati.

Norway cash returns

Brazil, Indonesia, and the DRC were among more than 140聽nations聽that agreed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 at last year鈥檚 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

The deal, which has seen slow progress so far, was underpinned by $19 billion in public and private聽funding聽commitments to invest in protecting and restoring forests.

Since then, Germany has pledged 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) per year in international biodiversity finance, while Norway agreed a new聽funding聽pact with Indonesia to cut its carbon emissions by conserving the聽rainforest 鈥撀爌otentially opening the door to more support from other donors.

Norway鈥檚 environment minister said in a social media post this week that it is also set to resume a deal to pay Brazil for results in Amazon forest protection, frozen after destruction of the world鈥檚 largest聽rainforest聽soared under Mr. Bolsonaro.

Carbon markets, meanwhile 鈥� which are another tool to slow deforestation 鈥� have been hampered by low prices, said James Deutsch, CEO at聽Rainforest聽Trust, a U.S.-based nonprofit.

If the three most important potential government sellers of forest carbon credits join forces, however, that could help boost the price paid per tonne of avoided CO2 emissions, he added.

鈥淚t is an intriguing and potentially powerful strategy to increase monetary flows, reduce deforestation, and slow climate change,鈥� he said.

The three countries also have a tremendous amount to teach the world on forest conservation, said Amy Duchelle, a senior forestry officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Brazil was the climate-change success story of the early 2000s when its government 鈥� led then by聽Lula 鈥撀爏lashed deforestation rates in the Amazon, she said.

鈥淚ndonesia has (also) shown recent success in reducing deforestation,鈥� noted Ms. Duchelle, adding that there is a huge opportunity for these countries to lead by example and demand more forest-friendly policies from other governments.

Shared challenges

Another positive factor in forging a new聽rainforest聽alliance is that net-zero targets and climate action are far stronger than ten years ago, when a first effort to form such a partnership failed, said Rod Taylor, global director for forests at the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based think-tank.

There could now be a larger pool of finance and political momentum for the three countries to聽tap聽into 鈥渋f they play their cards right鈥�, he added.

But enforcing forest protection laws in remote areas is a problem for all three, conservationists said, while Mr. Bolsonaro鈥檚 allies form the largest bloc in聽Brazil鈥檚聽Congress, which could hinder聽Lula鈥榮 policy push.

Toerris Jaeger, executive director of the Oslo-based聽Rainforest聽Foundation Norway, said the potential partners 鈥渇ace many of the same issues鈥�, including how to monitor deforestation, stop illegal activity and support forest peoples.

Other forest聽nations 鈥撀爈ike Colombia 鈥� could also take part in talks and join any new alliance at聽COP27聽to create a 鈥渕ore robust and effective鈥� coalition, he added.

鈥淒one right, collaboration and exchange of experience between聽rainforest聽countries can help in tackling deforestation,鈥� Mr. Jaeger said.

This story was reported by Reuters