A group of champions committed to protect and fund natural capital around the world announced important commitments at the Elysée Palace on the 22nd of June in the margins of the Paris summit on the New Global Financing Pact.
The group brings together forestry heads of state - Gustavo PETRO, Denis SASSOU N'GUESSO and Ali BONGO ONDIMBA – US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John KERRY, COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan AL JABER, the World Bank, IUCN president Razan AL MUBARAK, Conservation International, Rob Walton Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, Moore Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Minderoo Foundation, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
In the follow up to the Kunming-Montréal agreement to protect 30% of lands and seas by 2030, these champions expressed their conviction that new partnerships are needed to enable forest countries and the international community to protect and fund the largest vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity in the world.
To do so, the foundations of a new economic model that will remunerate natural capital and integrate its protection with the creation of economic opportunities for local populations were laid at COP27 and then in Libreville at the One Forest Summit.
In order to implement this vision, and working with the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, these champions agreed to:
- Intensify discussions to establish country packages for Forests, Nature and Climate. These partnerships will be based on reciprocal commitments and on the latest available science. They will also contribute to the generation of independent scientific data collection on forests;
- Open accessible funds to fast-track the negotiations. Wildlife Conservation Society has pledged an additional amount of 15M USD to the initial pledge of 100MUSD made in Libreville by France, Conservation International and Rob Walton Foundation. The Minderoo Foundation is also joining the seed fund.
- Anticipate the funding of large-scale projects within these packages. The Bezos Earth Fund and the Protecting Our Planet Challenge donors have already pledged to invest $5 billion by 2030 to support the creation, expansion and management of protected areas, a core element of country packages and the 30x30 goal in the UN Global Biodiversity Framework.
- Open a new space for the private sector to invest in these vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity, including by emitting high integrity biodiversity credits and certificates. An international taskforce has been launched to define this framework.
- Urge the international community to adopt instruments for remunerating the services provided by vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity, including tropical forests, peatlands and mangroves, based on mechanisms to measure results. A working group has been set up to study a proposal to establish a long-term investment portfolio that would grant a substantial share of the returns to committed forest states in exchange for results.
- Work closely with indigenous and local communities to incorporate their knowledge, development plans, and leadership in forest protection and use.
On all these points, these champions have agreed to widen the circle of committed players, in order to announce the first partnerships by COP28 in Dubai.
