European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today €1 billion at the 26^th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow as the European Union contribution to the Global Forests Finance Pledge. This 5-year support package from the EU budget will help partner countries to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests worldwide and deliver on the Paris Agreement.

The EU will work with partner countries to conserve, restore and ensure the sustainable management of forests in a comprehensive and integrated way. Within the €1 billion pledged today, €250 million will go to the Congo Basin, covering eight countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Burundi and Rwanda) to protect the world's second-largest tropical rainforest region while improving livelihoods for its populations.

More than 1.6 billion people all over the world depend on forests for food, medicine and livelihoods. Forests preserve soil and support 80% of the world's biodiversity, with the biggest forest basins outside the EU's territory. Because they produce oxygen and purify the air, forests are also essential for mitigating climate change as they absorb up to 30% of Green House Gas Emissions.

Since the early 1990s, the EU has been supporting forest conservation, particularly in Central Africa through the EU flagship ECOFAC programme (Preserving Biodiversity and fragile ecosystems in Central Africa). This continuous support helped conserve around 16 million ha of humid forests in the Congo Basin while promoting sustainable development and livelihoods amongst the local population.

Today's European Commission pledge is funded by the NDICI-Global Europe instrument.

Image © European Commission