PRESS RELEASE : World Leaders Launch Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership at COP27 [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 7 November 2022.

• World Leaders from 26 countries and the EU will come together today to launch the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) at the inaugural Forest and Climate Leaders’ Summit
• The Partnership will help to deliver the commitment made at COP26 by over 140 world leaders to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
• The new Partnership will unite action by government, business and community leaders, and shine a spotlight on global progress at COP27 and every year up to 2030.
• Leaders including President Macron of France, President Petro of Colombia and President Akufo-Addo of Ghana welcomed the creation of the partnership as a crucial delivery mechanism to deliver global forest and land use commitments
• The new Partnership will be co-chaired by the USA and Ghana, who will preside over the first Ministerial meeting of FCLP members on 12 November.

Today at the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Summit at COP27, 26 countries and the EU are announcing a commitment to join the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership to scale up action to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

These actions are fundamental to adapting to climate change and have the potential to deliver up to 30% of the emissions reductions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, while securing global biodiversity, economic prosperity and food supplies.

The launch of the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) follows from the package of announcements at COP26 in Glasgow last year, where over 140 world leaders, representing over 90% of the world’s forests, committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

The Partnership offers a way to enhance cooperation on delivery of these commitments, to scale ambition and to find innovative solutions to ongoing problems. By joining, countries are committing to lead by example in the implementation of their national goals and striving to be more ambitious over time. They are also committing to enhance collective efforts to maximise the contribution of forests and sustainable land use to global and national climate and biodiversity goals, and to meet annually to take stock of progress.

Every member is committing to play a leadership role to drive forward at least one of the FCLP’s action areas, which are:

• International collaboration on the sustainable land use economy;
• Mobilising public and donor finance to support implementation;
• Shifting the private finance system;
• Supporting Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ initiatives;
• Strengthening and scaling carbon markets for forests; and
• Partnerships and incentives for preserving high-integrity forests.

The launch brings together World Leaders from FCLP member countries including the leaders of the United States of America and Ghana, who will be the first co-chairs. Member countries represent the northern forests of Canada, the tropical and subtropical rainforests of the Amazon, Australasia, Africa and Asia, and the financial and economic centres of the world. Together, they will focus their combined weight on transformational areas of action.

Members will work closely with the private sector, civil society, international and multilateral organisations and community leaders to implement and rapidly scale up solutions on deforestation, forest degradation, reforestation and sustainable forest and land use management, that reflect each members’ national context and priorities as well as the urgency of the global climate and biodiversity crises.

At the inaugural meeting at COP27, member countries will take stock of progress since COP26 and discuss key insights, successes, challenges and priorities for future collaboration. The meeting will follow the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Summit at which members spoke alongside other countries and business and community leaders to highlight the most ambitious commitments and the strongest examples of progress since COP26.

List of members of the Forest and Climate Leader’s Partnership

1. Commonwealth of Australia
2. Canada
3. Republic of Colombia
4. Congo
5. Republic of Costa Rica
6. Republic of Ecuador
7. European Union
8. Republic of Finland
9. Republic of Fiji
10. Republic of France
11. Gabon
12. Federal Republic of Germany
13. Republic of Ghana
14. Republic of Guyana
15. Republic of Indonesia (is especially considering joining the FCLP)
16. Japan
17. Republic of Kenya
18. Republic of Korea
19. Kingdom of Netherlands
20. Federal Republic of Nigeria
21. Kingdom of Norway
22. Islamic Republic of Pakistan
23. Republic of Singapore
24. Kingdom of Sweden
25. United Republic of Tanzania
26. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
27. United States of America

Quotes

COP26 President Alok Sharma:

“I’m proud to launch the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership today. Forests are a precious resource that support sustainable livelihoods and act as the lungs of the world. At COP26 we saw incredible ambition with more than 140 countries committing to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. This partnership is a critical next step to collectively deliver on this promise and help keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C alive.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana:

“Forest loss can be averted. There is, however, the need for a dedicated space, globally, to provide the needed support and accountability checks to countries that are committed to delivering the Glasgow Leaders Declaration. The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership is a first and key step towards this goal, and Ghana supports and endorses fully the FCLP.”

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana:

“Ambition to protect the world’s forests has never been in short supply in forest communities and countries. What has been missing is the means to realise that ambition. The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership can rapidly change this situation – by bringing Heads of Government together to focus on practical solutions. Guyana will play its part in highlighting leadership from forest communities and countries. We will put forward solutions that we know can work because of our own experience. The world’s people do not need more talk, they need action that converts ambition into results, and I hope the FCLP will be the platform to achieve this.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada:

“There is no path to fighting climate change and building a healthy future that does not involve forests. At home, Canada is working in partnership with Indigenous communities, while taking historic steps like our commitment to plant 2 billion trees over the coming decade. To bring this work to the world stage, we are pleased to be joining the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. Together, we can maximize the role of forests in the fight against climate change and in our shared work to build a bright future.”

President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon:

“Gabon is proud to be part of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. As a climate pioneer, net absorbing over 100 million tons of CO2 every year into our forests, Gabon has already achieved and indeed exceeded the Paris objective of carbon neutrality. We have achieved this through development solutions that build a forest positive economy and provide employment, thereby giving our forests true value and ensuring that they remain standing. For these climate services to be maintained, we need to dramatically scale up action and investment, to deliver for people, for our climate and for our forests. The Partnership provides us with a forum to address these major challenges and enact real change before it is too late.”

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway:

“We will not reach the goals of the Paris Agreement without halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Achieving this will require unprecedented leadership and collaboration from governments, business, civil society and indigenous peoples. Norway joins the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership committed to work together with tropical forest countries and other like minded countries in pursuit of this goal.”

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on behalf of the European Union:

“Only with healthy forests we can deliver on our shared climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. And only with intact lively forests we can address biodiversity. We know that, yet the figures on global deforestation remain alarming. We need to act, and we need to act with urgency. This is not only important for the protection of nature, but also for the preservation of the economic livelihood of millions of people, which depends on the existence of sustainable and healthy forests. The EU is doing its share – and we are keen to work with partners worldwide to make sure we halt deforestation by 2030. I am confident the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership which the EU joins today will help us get there.”

Chancellor Scholz of Germany:

“Our joint global commitment to halt deforestation and restore forests needs to be translated into concrete and scaled action on the ground that will benefit people, biodiversity and the climate. Germany has joined the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership today since we are convinced that it provides a strong forum for international collaboration to progress on this front. To underpin our commitment, Germany will support the establishment of the Partnership’s secretariat and intends to double its initial contribution to the Global Forest Finance Pledge to a total of 2 billion euros.”

President Macron of France:

“Time has come to take stock of our actions to reverse forest loss, land degradation and, at the same time, to achieve our commitment to meet the Paris Agreement goals, thus the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership is essential. Time has also come to accelerate and reinforce our actions. France is fully committed to scale up its engagements for forests and call all stakeholders, through existing initiatives like the Great Green Wall and coming opportunities to build a 2023 forest and land-use positive agenda.”

John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate:

“The United States is pleased to help launch the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership with partners around the globe to help accelerate efforts to halt deforestation and land degradation, and restore ecosystems, in this critical decade for the climate. Success in this area is one of the most important tools we have to put the world on a path to averting the worst impacts of climate change, conserving biodiversity, and creating sustainable economic opportunities.”

Gustavo Manrique Miranda, Minister of the Environment and Water, Ecuador:

“This alliance is an opportunity to implement solutions that reduce deforestation, that increase forest restoration and strengthen the livelihoods of people living in forest areas. Ecuador understands that we must act strategically in our forests at the local and global levels.”

Sung-hyun Nam, Minister for Korea Forest Service, Republic of Korea:

“I believe that the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership will become a significant global partnership that calls on countries to help to address forest and land use issues as well as climate change with robust political support. Therefore, we, at the ROK, would like to take the opportunity to join the FCLP. Also, as a founding member, Korea will actively participate in activities of the partnership, and join forces with the global community to support forest restoration of developing countries using Korea’s know-hows and experience.”

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore:

“Singapore is delighted to be part of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, to work with like-minded partners on innovative and environmentally robust solutions that would unlock the potential of the forestry sector for climate action, while reducing the loss of forests worldwide. The Partnership will help scale up and support the development of high integrity markets for forestry carbon credits, in advancing global climate ambition.”

Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment, Costa Rica:

“We see the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership as the crucial delivery mechanism for global forest and land use commitments. After successfully implementing REDD+, decoupling GDP from deforestation, Costa Rica expects to maintain zero net deforestation, the high-value forests conservation, and consolidate carbon neutrality in the rural landscape scaling up sustainable land-use enterprises, forest-positive economies, and supply chains.”

Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, Minister of Environment, Federal Republic of Nigeria:

“The forest is a powerful multi-faceted resource for fighting negative impacts of climate change and for changing lives. It is the most available and cost-effective tool for everyone to use, regardless of economic or social status, urban or rural. The alarming deforestation and land degradation rates in Nigeria makes it pertinent to join efforts to restore our forests and land to enable keeping global temperature goals, sustainable development for our people alongside the regeneration and survival of our ecosystems. Nigeria is happy to join the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership which we expect will provide effective leadership and means of implementation for forest and climate. Let the FCLP be a Partnership for Action.”

Senator the Hon Murray Watt MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australia:

“Forests and forest products are vital to addressing our global climate challenges, and require an ongoing focus at all levels to unlock their potential. Australia is proud to join with other high-ambition countries and help drive global momentum to address climate change through the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. Our unique and varied forests, deep Indigenous knowledge and practices, and experience managing forests for multiple outcomes, positions us strongly to contribute. We look forward to working with others to find innovative ways to build on existing global forest initiatives and maximise the role of forests as climate solutions.”

Mr. Hiroshi ORITA, Director-General, Forestry Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan:

“Collaboration is the key to moving forward the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. Through the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, Japan will play its part in realizing our shared goals in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including international organizations and the private sector, building on our experiences and expertise in restoring once degraded land into rich forests, and promoting sustainable forest management and wood use.”