Nov. 2 (UPI) — Representatives from more than 100 countries — in which 85% of the world’s forests are located — signed an agreement Tuesday to end deforestation by the end of the decade.
The pact, announced at Tuesday’s session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, includes nearly $20 billion in public and private funding for the plan.
China, Brazil and the United States led the list of signatories to the Declaration of Forest and Land Use, which is one of the largest efforts in history aimed at stemming global deforestation.
U.S. President Joe Biden said at a briefing in Glasgow that the world has already passed the 2020 Bonn Challenge of restoring 50 million acres of forest, but emphasized that more can and must be done.
“If we all work together to make sure these precious resources are conserved in Africa and around the world, forests have the potential to reduce carbon [emissions] globally by more than one third,” Biden said.
A plan Biden unveiled at the conference, or COP26, on Tuesday aims to bring together a full range of U.S. tools to halt forest loss and improve land management.
“Through this plan, the United States will help the world deliver on our shared goal of halting natural forest loss and restoring at least an additional 200 million hectares of forests and other ecosystems by the year 2030,” Biden added.
Other world leaders hailed the agreement as an important step toward fighting climate change.
“We have to stop the devastating loss of our forests,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.
“[We must] end the role of humanity as nature’s conqueror, and instead become nature’s custodian.”
Amanda Blanc, Group CEO of British insurance company Aviva, said financial institutions should use their influence in slow deforestation.
“Protecting our forests and their biodiversity is fundamental to the fight against climate change,” Blanc said in a statement.
“Together we can reduce risk to the planet and the financial markets, and capitalize on the opportunities that come from more sustainable investment.”
Earlier Tuesday, the White House unveiled a sweeping plan to cut methane emissions, a chief contributor to global warming, and vowed that the United States will hit its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. One the first day of the conference, Biden called on leaders to take “bold” and direct actions to curb carbon emissions.
Biden is scheduled to give a final briefing at the conference before he departs Scotland and returns to the United States. The news conference is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. EDT.