Brazil is preparing to be the first nation to invest money to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a multilateral fund it proposed to help safeguard the world’s endangered forests, according to three sources familiar with the plan.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to announce the investment on Tuesday at the U.N. in New York, in a move that aims to unlock more contributions from both wealthy and developing economies, which have been at odds about funding global climate policy.
The Brazilian government sees potential for the TFFF to be its main deliverable at the U.N. climate summit known as COP30 that it will host in the Amazonian city of Belem in November.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Foan told his Brazilian peer Fernando Haddad in July that China would make one of the initial contributions to the fund, without disclosing how much, according to reports.
An investment by China would signal an important shift in climate finance, which has long relied on funding from wealthy nations most responsible for global warming to date. The TFFF has also received initial signs of support from nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, according to people involved in the negotiations.
‘Money Where Your Mouth Is’
Policymakers envision the TFFF as a $125 billion fund combining sovereign and private-sector contributions managed like an endowment that pays countries annual stipends based on how much of their tropical forests remain standing.
To achieve that lofty target, Brazil needs governments and major philanthropies to contribute the first $25 billion, which could then attract another $100 billion from private investors, under preliminary estimates.
Diplomats from countries showing an interest in investing told Brazil in recent months that its initial contribution would help to line up their own announcements, the three sources said.
Brazil’s intention with Tuesday’s planned announcement is to show that the country, which would be set to receive the largest payouts from the fund because it is home to the biggest tropical forest in the world, trusts its proposal enough to “put your money where your mouth is,” as one source described it.
Details about the value and timing of Brazil’s investment are still under final discussions involving the Finance Ministry and Lula, who will travel to New York on Sunday. The decision to invest in the fund has already been made, the sources said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
