Date: 14 November 2024
Time: 13:00 - 14:30 AZT
Location: DRC Pavilion
This is an official event of the DRC Pavilion of the UNFCCC COP29.
Organizer: UNEP
Description: Time is running out to halt and reverse forest loss, a critical element in the global fight against climate change. To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, scaling up finance for forests is essential. Currently, there is a US$130 billion annual gap in forest finance that needs to be closed. Forest carbon credits and investments in high-integrity results-based payments (RBPs), voluntary carbon markets (VCM), and compliance market mechanisms (CCM) provide essential pathways to channeling investment into forest-based climate solutions. These investments will not only help achieve climate goals but also provide economic and environmental benefits to communities and countries involved in forest conservation.
The event, "Scaling Forest Carbon Finance for People, Planet, and Nature," will address the urgent need to ramp up these financial mechanisms. The session will highlight progress in forest conservation efforts, specifically in tropical forest countries that have developed large-scale programs known as jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+). However, recent challenges in carbon markets, particularly for forest credits, have dampened demand, threatening the progress made.
Leaders will present a ministerial-level public statement reaffirming their commitment to scaling forest carbon finance. The session will explore ways to catalyze demand by addressing barriers and ensuring buyers properly value forest carbon credits. In addition, discussions will focus on providing technical assistance and building capacity to enhance forest carbon results and credits, while also incorporating Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs and LCs) as partners in these efforts. As we approach COP30, this event will serve as a critical milestone to advance forest carbon finance and reverse deforestation.
