Multinationals & Governments team up to end deforestation

The governments of Norway, the UK and the US have joined forces with several multinational companies such as Amazon, Bayer and Nestlé on a project aiming to protect the world's tropical rainforests.

The Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition was announced at last week's Leaders Summit on climate, convened by US President Joe Biden, and is looking to raise an initial $1 billion (€830 million) in funding.

The project will see governments and companies which are taking part pay countries that have subtropical or tropical forests for emissions reductions. It is hoped the move will help to reduce deforestation, and ultimately put a stop to the practice entirely.

Read more: Industry deforestation targets "unlikely to be met", says CDP

Protecting the forests - which help remove carbon from the atmosphere - is seen as a vital part of the global push to move quickly to a low-carbon economy in order to prevent drastic climate change, however one which has largely failed so far.

Citing data from Global Forest Watch, LEAF says that in 2020 the pace of deforestation actually increased by 12% from the previous year. This translates to around 10 million hectares of primary tropical rainforest - an area roughly the size of Switzerland.

"The LEAF coalition is a groundbreaking example of the scale and type of collaboration that is needed to fight the climate crisis and achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050," said US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

"Bringing together government and private-sector resources is a necessary step in supporting the large-scale efforts that must be mobilised to halt deforestation and begin to restore tropical and subtropical forests."

Read more: Brazilian farmers' lobbies divided over EU's Amazon deforestation complaints

The countries that take part in the project will need to have the reduction in emissions linked to deforestation verified by a newly established, more rigorous assessment at the national level by an approved independent third part, LEAF said in a statement.

Countries wishing to apply have until July 2021 to do so, with the aim of signing contracts before the end of the year. Payments will be based on the reduction of emissions connected with deforestation, or through actual reforestation, between 2022 and 2026.

Companies that wish to participate may only do so if they are able to demonstrate a commitment to "deep voluntary cuts" in their own greenhouse gas emissions, in line with those outlined in the Paris Accord.

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"Climate change is the greatest threat to our planet, and the LEAF coalition offers us an opportunity to bring together governments and companies to fight it," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.

"In uniting behind a common cause, the countries and companies of the coalition have a chance to end deforestation by 2030."

The project will be overseen by US-based non-profit Emergent. Aside from Amazon, Bayer and Nestlé, the other companies taking part in the LEAF Coalition are Unilever, McKinsey, Airbnb, Salesforce, GlaxoSmithKline and Boston Consulting Group, with more expected to join over time.

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