RIO DE JANEIRO, July 8 (Bernama-dpa) — Brazil plans to launch an international fund to finance the protection of tropical forests at the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) later this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday, reported the German Press Agency (dpa).
The €125 billion (US$147 billion) fund is intended to reward countries with extensive rainforests for conservation projects.
Lula announced in Rio de Janeiro on the second and final day of a BRICS summit of major developing economies. Brazil is set to host the COP30 climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belém in November.
The Brazilian leader said the forest fund would be a contribution to a just climate policy.
“The Tropical Forests Forever Fund, which we will launch at COP30, will reward ecosystem services provided to the planet,” he said. “By protecting and restoring our territories, we are also creating opportunities for local communities and indigenous peoples.”
In addition to the fund, Lula also announced a BRICS initiative to combat poverty-related diseases by investing in healthcare, education and infrastructure.
The BRICS acronym is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In early 2024, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates joined the group, while Indonesia entered in January.
Malaysia became a ‘partner country’ of BRICS during the summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24, 2024. Among the other ‘partner countries’ are Thailand, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Nigeria.
The BRICS countries claim they represent around 48.5 per cent of the world’s population, 36 per cent of global land area and 24 per cent of global economic output.
The countries see themselves as a forum for cooperation between countries of the Global South.
The group aims to act as a counterweight to the Group of Seven (G7) of leading Western economic powers.
–BERNAMA-dpa