European nations are throwing their weight behind a 2.5bn R43.36bn plan to save the Congo rainforest, a document seen by Reuters showed, launching a conservation scheme that may steal some thunder from the flagship initiative of COP30 host Brazil.
Mobilising more money to protect and restore the worlds last remaining rainforests is a central goal of the UN climate talks, deliberately held in the Brazilian Amazon this year to focus on the need to fight emissions from rampant deforestation.
The French-led initiative backed by Germany, Norway, Belgium and Britain is called The Belem Call for the Forests of the Congo Basin. Backers expect to mobilise resources to help countries protect the second-largest rainforest in the world. The document written in French, dated November 6, was signed by the five European nations.