Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative Extended Until 2030

- Protecting and restoring tropical forests is essential to climate change mitigation. It also yields numerous other benefits, including for biodiversity, various water related ecosystem services, indigenous peoples' livelihoods and rights, and climate change adaptation. A number of tropical forest countries have demonstrated international leadership and ambition in their desire to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest and peat degradation. It is essential to the future of humanity that we achieve a good agreement in Paris. As a contribution towards this aim, we will extend our climate and forest initiative until 2030, provided that efforts to reduce emissions from forests in developing countries are included in the Paris agreement, stated minister Sundtoft. 

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) could provide as much as one third of the mitigation we need over the next two decades. The Norwegian contribution will mainly be targeted towards paying for verified emissions reductions, in line with relevant UNFCCC decisions. Significant support to civil society and indigenous peoples' group as well as collaboration with the private sector will also be continued.

- Extending this initiative is the best contribution Norway can provide to a good agreement in Paris and to the fight against global warming, declared Sundtoft.

NICFI was established in 2008, and enjoys broad support in the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget), which in 2014 agreed to extend the initiative until 2020. NICFI has established results based partnerships with Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guyana, Indonesia, Liberia, and Ethiopia. It has contributed to the development of numerous multilateral initiatives under the World Bank as well as the UN REDD Program, and runs a large scale civil society support program, including support for indigenous peoples' groups as well as collaboration with the private sector.