New Delhi: Leaders of 105 countries on Monday pledged to end deforestation by 2030 at the ongoing COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
The leaders said they aim to preserve the forests vital to absorbing carbon-dioxide and slowing global temperature rise.
The declaration by the countries said the pledge would call for “transformative further action”. Many other measures will help in making the action effective.
A statement issued by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office on behalf of the leaders said the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use is set to cover more than 13 million square miles of forests.
The international summit is being hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy.
“We will have the chance to end humanity’s long history as the conqueror of nature and to be its custodian,” Johnson said in the statement.
Pledge to end deforestation: Key aspects
Brazil, where many areas of the Amazon rainforest are being cut, will sign an agreement on Tuesday to end deforestation.
About $19.2 billion in public and private funding is included in the pledge.
Governments have committed $12 billion, while private companies have committed $7 billion for the purpose.
Part of the monetary resources will fund developing countries to help restore damaged lands, combat wildfires, and support indigenous populations. $1.7 billion is dedicated to helping the indigenous population.
UK Prime Minister Johnson said the deforestation treaty was key to the world’s commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of limiting the average increase in global temperature to 1.5 °C.
Media reports quoted him as saying, “These great ecosystems—these cathedrals of nature—are the lungs of our planet.”
Brazil, China, the United States, the UK, Russia, Canada, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are some of the countries that will sign the pledge on Tuesday. Signatories cover about 85 percent of the world’s forests.
Some agricultural industries such as those dealing with palm oil, soy and cocoa are responsible for the deforestation as trees are cut down to plant crops and graze animals.
The governments of about 28 countries will pledge to remove deforestation from the global trade of these agricultural products.
Aviva, Schröders and AXA are among the world’s largest financial companies that will pledge to end investment in deforestation-related activities. More than 30 financial companies are expected to fulfill this commitment.
The world’s second largest tropical rainforest located in the Congo Basin will also be protected. More than $1.5 million will be used for this purpose.
Why deforestation must end
Deforestation, which is the action of clearing a wide area of trees, is a major issue because it reduces the number of trees that absorb large amounts of carbon-dioxide.
As a result, concentrations of atmospheric carbon-dioxide, a greenhouse gas, increase, leading to an increase in global temperatures, and other climate change effects.
Intact forests and peatlands are natural stores of carbon, and keep it away from the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are emitted by cutting, burning and drainage of forests.
The World Resources Institute claims that deforestation will be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, deforestation has been a country. Healthy forests are important because they filter water, cause precipitation, reduce temperatures, support agriculture, and are fundamental to the conservation of biodiversity.
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