Norway and UK commit GBP 100 million to Congo rainforest fund

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London today launched a major new initiative to preserve the rainforest in the Congo Basin. The two Prime Ministers each committed GBP 50 million to the Congo Basin Forest Fund. The initiative was launched in cooperation with the Commission for the Forests of Central Africa (COMIFAC) and the African Development Bank.

Read Prime Minister Stoltenberg's speech here.

“To reduce total emissions the global community will have to take urgent action”, Prime Minister Stoltenberg says. “A reduction of the emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is essential to address climate change”.

As much as one fifth of current greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation. According to both the Stern Review and the IPCC, these emissions can be reduced substantially in a fairly short time and at an acceptable price.

“To reduce deforestation in developing countries is a main priority for Norway’s climate policy. We believe that the Congo Basin Forest Fund is a good example of a mechanism by which developed countries can help shoulder the financial burden of developing countries making significant emissions reductions. Therefore, Norway is pledging GBP 50 million to limiting emissions from deforestation in the Congo Basin”, says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The Norwegian Prime Minister announced at the Bali conference that Norway is prepared to increase its support to prevent deforestation in developing countries to around 600 million USD a year. The Congo Basin Forest Fund is one of the first projects to which Norway announces substantial support.

Covering an area twice the size of France, the Congo Basin rainforest  is the second largest tropical forest in the world – home to more than 50 million people, 10 000 species of plants , 1000 species of birds and 400 species of mammals.

The Congo Basin Forest Fund will be run by a governing council chaired by Professor Wangari Maathai - Nobel Peace Laureate and goodwill ambassador for the Congo Basin Forest, and the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin - former Prime Minister of Canada.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's government has set ambitious goals for contributing to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases. Norway will overfulfil its Kyoto commitments by ten per cent, it will reduce global emissions by the equivalent of 30 per cent of Norwegian emissions by 2020 and the country will be carbon neutral by 2030.