First major COP26 resolution: halt deforestation by 2030

Of the more than 100 countries that agreed, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, China and Indonesia, according to CNN. Countries that collectively represent more than 85 percent of the world’s forest area.

At a UN meeting in New York in 2014, many countries and companies promised to halt deforestation by 2030 – without any significant results. But the goal itself is now the first decision made at the Great Climate Summit.

– In addition, they will restore areas that have already been destroyed. It is certainly the largest agreement ever made here in Glasgow, says Anna Maja Pearson, foreign correspondent on site in Glasgow.

“You did not abide by previous agreements”

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, tweets enthusiastically about the decision:

“With this promise, we have a chance to end humanity’s role as nature’s killer and become its agent.”

Labor’s shadow climate minister Luke Pollard criticizes the agreement for being toothless, even if the intentions are good, reports say. Sky News.

“Brazilians have not adhered to the previous agreements they signed to stop deforestation, so there is cause for concern,” Pollard says.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not in Glasgow himself, but Brazil has a delegation at the summit.

remains to be seen

According to Toby Gardner, a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute, deforestation has increased in many countries since 2014 when the promise was first announced. The big question now is how countries should move from rhetoric to action.

This is not a radical new proposition. But this time, more countries are behind it and the financial support is greater. But we will have to wait and see if the countries actually deliver on their promises. If they did, that would be great, of course, says Gardner.

He believes the money, $19 billion, is another reason not to take out the celebration in advance. Compared to the amount that goes into subsidies and investments in projects that lead to deforestation, he is, according to Gardner, a thief’s spitting.

You should pay to let the forest stand rather than cut it down. We need to change the equation. Everyone is beginning to realize that coal must be removed from our economies, and the same approach must be applied to deforestation.