Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom pledge $5 billion to support forests as an essential climate solution

"I am happy that we are working closely together with Germany and the United Kingdom to step up and provide predictability on funding for forest, says Tine Sundtoft, Minister of Climate and Environment in Norway.

The three governments will aim to reach $1 billion per year in 2020, and have signaled they will increasingly target results-based finance for countries who deliver verified REDD+ emission reductions, an important part of the international framework for climate cooperation.

"We are encouraged by the joint statement by leaders at the start of the Paris conference, acknowledging the critical role of forests in combatting climate change. While both pre- and post-2020 actions are important, the commitments we heard today recognize the urgency to scale up emissions reductions through REDD+ before 2020. We see this as a model for scaling up ambition and addressing conditional commitments of countries in need of international support" , says Peter Graham, leader of WWF's Global Forest and Climate Programme.

Jeff Seabright from Unilever is further stating that "Many global companies, including our own, have made unprecedented commitments to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.   We are taking action but the private sector cannot succeed alone. 

"We applaud the new political will governments are showing on forests today in Paris, with special gratitude to Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom for their leadership in supporting innovative partnerships with tropical forest countries," said Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland and Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Board Co-Sponsors of the Sustainability Committee of the Consumer Goods Forum, a global coalition of 400 companies representing 2.5 trillion dollars in annual sales.

More information about the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative here.