Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is rallying global support for a new “Tropical Forests Forever Facility,” securing $5.5 billion in initial pledges despite a deeply divided political landscape. The fund, announced at the Belem climate summit, aims to pay 74 developing nations to halt deforestation.
The initiative has received a major boost from Norway, which pledged $3 billion. Germany is also expected to contribute, lending credibility to Lula’s ambition to make forest preservation economically viable.
The fund’s innovative structure relies on loans from wealthy nations and investors, not just donations. This is designed to create a sustainable financial incentive to keep trees standing, protecting the vital carbon sinks of the Amazon and other rainforests.
However, the push for funding is happening against a backdrop of global fragmentation. The leaders of the top three polluters—the US, China, and India—were absent from the preliminary gathering.
This division prompted UN chief António Guterres to warn of a “moral failure,” accusing world powers of being “captive to fossil fuel interests.” Lula’s challenge is to build a financial coalition strong enough to overcome this political inertia.