Preserving forests to save the climate: a hundred countries, some of which have been blamed for intense deforestation like Brazil, made this solemn commitment on Tuesday at COP26, but their promise is considered too soft by environmental defenders .
Lungs of the planet along with the oceans, forests play an essential role in the fight against climate change by absorbing a significant part of the billions of tons of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year by human activities.
In order to stop their degradation and restore these “cathedrals of nature”, the leaders of more than 100 countries sheltering 85% of the world’s forests – including the boreal forest of Canada, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil or the tropical forest of the basin of the Congo – adopted a declaration on forests at the UN climate conference in Glasgow.
The initiative, which will benefit from public and private funding of $ 19.2 billion (16.5 billion euros) over several years, is essential to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to +1, 5 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, host of the event.
“We cannot cope with the devastating loss of habitats and species without fighting climate change, and we cannot cope with climate change without protecting our natural environment and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples,” he said. he said Tuesday.
“Protecting our forests is the right thing to do not only to fight climate change, but also for a more prosperous future for all,” he added.
See also: Three challenges of COP26
Forests are currently receding at the “alarming rate” of 27 football pitches every minute, according to the UK presidency of COP26. And according to the NGO Global Forest Watch, deforestation in the world has accelerated in recent years: the destruction of primary forests was up 12% in 2020 compared to the previous year despite the economic crisis.
Among the signatories are China, Russia, France, Australia or the United States.
“Conserving our forests and other essential ecosystems is essential to achieve our climate goals” but also “to have clean water, maintain biodiversity, support indigenous peoples and reduce the risk of the spread of disease,” insisted the US president. Joe Biden.
Fear of failure
The Brazilian government, criticized for its environmental policy, announced on Monday more ambitious objectives to reduce CO2 emissions – 50% less by 2030 instead of 43%, and carbon neutrality in 2050 – and to fight against deforestation.
But since the start of the term of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019, the Brazilian Amazon has lost 10,000 km2 of forest per year, compared to 6,500 km2 annually in the previous decade.
A neighboring country, Colombia has decided not to wait until 2030 and to protect 30% of its territory from 2022, its president Ivan Duque said on Tuesday.
As part of the forestry announcement, 28 countries representing three quarters of global trade in raw materials that could threaten forests, such as palm oil and cocoa, also signed a declaration to act more equitably and transparent.
More than 30 financial institutions such as Aviva or Axa have made a commitment to no longer invest in activities linked to deforestation.
Currently, nearly a quarter (23%) of global greenhouse gas emissions come from activities such as agriculture or the forestry industry.
The new pledge against deforestation echoes the “New York Declaration on Forests” of 2014, when many countries pledged to halve deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030.
But for NGOs like Greenpeace, the 2030 target highlighted on Tuesday is far too distant and gives the green light to “an additional decade of deforestation”.
Global Witness has said it fears that “the failures of previous commitments” will repeat itself, due to insufficient funding and uncertain follow-up to its promise.
This declaration comes the day after the harangue of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to “save humanity”, before some 120 leaders and thousands of delegates and observers gathered in Glasgow.