With strings attached for Brazilian agro, rich nations agree to fund forest conservation

Led by the U.S. and the European Union, twelve developed economies launched a global initiative to fund forest conservation at the UN’s Climate Summit (COP26) in Glasgow this week, with potential ramifications for Brazilian agro.

Together, members of the so-called Global Forest Finance Pledge pledged to commit USD 12 billion to initiatives in developing countries, including restoring degraded land, tackling wildfires, and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and other local communities. It is believed that Brazil will be among the recipients of these funds — but they won’t come for free.

In addition, 14 donors pledged at least USD 1.7 billion from 2021 to 2025 “to advance indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ forest tenure rights and support their role as guardians of forests and nature.” Partners from the private sector chipped in another USD 7.2 billion in what has been named the Forest Investor Club. 

“This network of leading public and private financial institutions and other investors aims to unlock and scale up investments that support sustainable, climate-aligned outcomes in the land sector,” reads a U.S. State Department statement. 

“These financial institutions and network partners are committed to increasing the scale and geographic scope of investment in restoration, conservation, sustainable agriculture and forestry, and green infrastructure.” 

“The Forest Investor Club will accelerate the pace, increase...