The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced today a 1 billion euros contribution by the European Union to the global financial commitment for forests at the 26th UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow. This five-year support package from the EU budget will help partner countries to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests around the world and to comply with the Paris Agreement.
This pledge is the European Commission’s contribution to the global commitment for forests made to COP26 by the international community. As a follow-up, the EU will work with partner countries to conserve, restore and ensure sustainable forest management in a comprehensive and integrated way. Of the 1 billion euros promised today, 250 million euros will go to the Congo basin, which includes eight countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Burundi and Rwanda) to protect the world’s second largest rainforest region while improving the livelihoods of its populations.
More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for food, medicines and livelihoods. Forests preserve soil and support 80% of the world’s biodiversity, with the largest forest basins outside the EU.
As they produce oxygen and purify air, forests are also essential to mitigate climate change, as they absorb up to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. They are equally important for climate adaptation. Greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation are the second cause of climate change. Between 1990 and 2016, the world lost forest cover at a rate equivalent to about 800 football fields per hour.
Since the early 1990s, the EU has supported the conservation of forests, in particular in Central Africa through the EU’s ECOFAC flagship programme (Preserving biodiversity and fragile ecosystems in Central Africa). This continued support has helped preserve some 16 million hectares of humid forests in the Congo basin, while promoting sustainable development and the livelihoods of the local population.