Brazil has announced a US$1 billion investment in its multilateral funding mechanism aimed at conserving the world’s endangered tropical forests.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made the pledge Tuesday at a United Nations event in New York, reports Reuters, making the South American giant the first country to commit a contribution to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF). “Brazil will lead by example,” Lula said. “I invite all partners present to put forward equally ambitious contributions so that the TFFF can become operational at COP30.”
Brazil is set to host the UN climate summit in November in the Amazonian city of Belém. Previous iterations have seen wealthy countries and the developing world at odds over funding global climate policy. Sources tell Reuters that Lula’s announcement is designed to unlock more contributions from both sides.
Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Special Envoy for Nature of the UAE, praised Brazil’s efforts to put developing countries as leaders in the climate finance debate. “Led by Brazil and embraced across the tropics, the TFFF marks a turning point,” she said, calling the fund “an innovative Global South-led initiative.”
The UAE is one of several countries that has signalled support for the fund, along with China, Singapore, Norway, the UK, France, and Germany.
[See more: Because of deforestation, the Amazon is losing its ability to generate vital rainfall]
China’s finance minister Lan Fo’an expressed his country’s intention in a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Fernando Haddad back in July, reportedly saying that he considered the fund idea important and that China would collaborate. A public announcement is not expected until the summit in November.
The Brazilian-led initiative, first proposed in 2023, aims to transform how the world approaches environmental conservation. Envisioned as a US$125 billion fund combining sovereign and private-sector funding, the TFFF would be managed like an endowment, paying annual stipends to countries based on how much of their tropical forests remain standing.
Over 70 developing countries will be eligible to receive compensation under the scheme, provided they meet rules regarding financial management system transparency and agree to designate 20 percent of the resources for Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway’s climate minister, applauded Brazil for making the first contribution toward this ambitious goal, adding, “We need to quickly expand the number of sponsor countries in order for the TFFF to achieve its full potential.”
Preliminary estimates indicate that governments and major philanthropies need to contribute the first US$25 billion, which could then attract the remaining funds from private investors.
