Heads of state and government, ministers and other representatives of some 50 countries concluded an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation at the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference. Around US$4.5 billion has been pledged for the period 2010–2012 for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries.
“Measures to reduce deforestation are the quickest and least expensive way of achieving large emission cuts. At today’s meeting, around 50 countries agreed on a framework for the rapid implementation of measures for reducing deforestation. This could be an important step forward in the run-up to the climate negotiations in Mexico later this year,” said Prime Minister Stoltenberg at the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference.
The global forest partnership that was established in Oslo today marks the start of closer global co-operation on reducing deforestation and forest degradation in tropical developing countries. The partnership will support and contribute to the UNFCCC process. It will also promote transparency around financing and existing and new international initiatives to reduce deforestation and degradation of tropical forests.
“As the host of the next Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, we wholeheartedly support this initiative. In our view, concrete initiatives where developed and developing countries co-operate on reducing greenhouse gas emissions are essential for the success of the UNFCCC negotiations. We therefore highly value Norway’s leadership in these efforts,” said Mexican Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, who was present at the conference.
In addition to heads of state and government and ministers from a number of key countries, the Oslo Conference also brought together the heads of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), representatives of the World Bank and the regional development banks, and representatives of indigenous peoples and civil society. The Prince of Wales and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai also attended and expressed their strong support for the partnership.
Around $4.5 billion will be made available for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and partners have expressed their willingness to scale up financing substantially after 2012 provided that sufficient emission reductions are achieved. Agreement has been reached on important principles, such as the inclusion of representatives of relevant stakeholders including indigenous peoples. The partnership efforts will be led by two co-chairs, one from a developing and one from a developed country. The World Bank and UN will provide secretariat services.
In a statement of support, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked Norway for hosting the conference and commended Prime Minister Stoltenberg for his visionary leadership in this field.