The heads of state and government at the COP26 climate conference want to commit to intensifying the fight against deforestation in order to combat global warming – an initiative by 100 countries provides for this.
After drastic climate protection appeals the day before, numerous heads of state and government will again have their say at the world climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland. In addition, an initiative by 100 countries that want to stop the destruction of forests and other landscapes by 2030 will be presented. As the British government, which chairs the UN conference, announced, the participating countries represent 85 percent of the world’s forest area, or about 34 million square kilometers.
This includes Germany and the entire EU, but also the countries with the largest forests of all – Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia as well as China, Norway and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to this, around 12 billion US dollars (around 10.3 billion euros) in public funds will be mobilized for the project by 2025. In addition, there are private investments of US $ 7.2 billion.
Forests are shrinking every minute
Forests are considered the lungs of the earth, they absorb around a third of the CO2 emissions emitted by humans each year. But they are shrinking alarmingly, as the message went on to say: Every minute an area of around 27 football fields is lost.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed the importance of forests in achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era, according to a speech distributed in advance. “These great teeming ecosystems, these cathedrals of nature, are the lungs of our planet,” the text said. With the adoption of the voluntary commitment to forest protection planned for Tuesday, mankind has the chance to go from being a “conqueror” to being the guardian of nature.
According to the UK government, the declaration is backed by more than a hundred heads of state and government, whose countries together are home to more than 85 percent of the world’s forests. The project is supported with almost 20 billion dollars (17 billion euros) in financial commitments from public and private funds.
Deforestation in the Amazon continues unchecked
The British government described the project as “unprecedented”. However, the participants at a UN climate change meeting in New York announced in 2014 that they would halve the deforestation rate by 2020 and stop deforestation by 2030. Nevertheless, the deforestation continues unchecked on an industrial scale, not least in the Amazon rainforest under the government of the right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The nature conservation organization Greenpeace criticized the Glasgow initiative. This practically gives the green light “for another decade of deforestation”.
Over the next two weeks, around 200 countries will be fighting in Glasgow to see how the 1.5 degree target agreed in Paris can still be achieved and actually implemented. The states’ previous plans are nowhere near sufficient for this.
Queen Elizabeth sends warning words
In addition to the presidents of some EU states, Latin American heads of state and high-ranking representatives from poorer countries such as Sierra Leone and Rwanda will also have their say in the plenary session on Tuesday. The heads of state and government of island states such as the Bahamas and Barbados, which are particularly threatened by the consequences of global warming, are also on the list of speakers.
On Monday evening, the British Queen had spoken to the heads of state and government insistently. “In the coming days the world has the chance to create a safer and more stable future for our people and the planet on which we depend,” said the Queen in a message published on Monday evening, a few days ago at Windsor Castle had been recorded. She herself hoped that the conference would be one of those moments when everyone would leave the politics of the moment behind and grow beyond themselves.
“Many hope that the legacy of this summit – written in history books yet to be printed – will describe you as the leaders who did not miss the opportunity, but followed the call of these future generations,” said the Queen.
Source From: Stern
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