EU Pledges Over $1Bln to Protect Forests Worldwide in Next 5 Years

Brussels – The European Commission announced on Tuesday that the EU will invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in efforts to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests across the world during the next five years.

“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today €1 billion at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow as the European Union contribution to the Global Forests Finance Pledge. This 5-year support package from the EU budget will help partner countries to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests worldwide,” the EU body said in a statement.

Of those funds, 250 million euros will be allocated to the Congo Basin Pledge that seeks to protect the world’s second largest tropical rainforest region covering eight countries — Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Burundi and Rwanda — while improving livelihoods for its populations.

Earlier in the day, leaders of more than 100 countries representing over 85% of the world’s forests committed to ending deforestation by 2030 under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use at the COP26.