A new global scheme to reward countries for protecting their forests and biodiversity have been given a boost by French President Emmanuel Macron who promised 50 million euros ($52.9 million) to the cause on Thursday as he called for more concrete action on global climate commitments.
The pledge was announced as the two-day One Forest Summit in Gabon that aimed to assess progress made since last year’s COP27 climate conference and renew targets for the preservation and sustainable management of the world’s forests, was rounding off.
“We understood the need to have cash on the table and concrete actions,” Macron said in a speech on the first full day of a four-nation Africa tour.
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The funding from France is part of a joint 100 million-euro commitment to kickstart a mechanism that aims to reward countries that are scientifically proven to have protected their forests or restored them and Macron said the scheme would be underpinned by research to improve the understanding of forests’ value by mapping carbon reserves, biodiversity and levels of carbon sequestration in the Amazon, Africa and Asia.
How Central African countries like Gabon manage their share of the world’s second-largest rainforest is critical especially as the so-called “lungs of Africa” store more carbon per hectare than the Amazon, help regulate temperatures, and generate rain for millions in the arid Sahel and distant Ethiopian highlands.
Macron said the new mechanism would address a current issue with carbon credit schemes where countries like Gabon with relatively untouched forests are not compensated as well as deforested countries that are planting new trees.
Macron earlier visited a rainforest on the outskirts of the Gabonese capital, where he strolled among towering trees and sampled a kola nut. He has said he wants to avoid politics during the Africa tour, which includes his first-time visits as president to Angola, Congo Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Closing the summit, Gabonese President Ali Bongo expressed satisfaction with its outcome and the outlook for the next climate conference.
“We have put in place a sound plan that will make COP28 the success we wanted it to be.”
Story was adapted from Reuters
