Following the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December, 2021, the momentum for forests continued to grow in 2022, giving the  forest agenda an opportunity to move from an era of goodwill and readiness into a decade of scaled up action, results and finance. Building on the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use, announced at UNFCCC COP-26, the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership was launched to drive delivery of the 2030 target to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

This momentum continued at the UNFCC COP-27 in Sharm El Sheik in November, 2022, where forests were profiled as exemplars of progress being made on the Paris Agreement, climate action and mobilizing finance. The role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and forests was reaffirmed in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, with forests increasingly recognized as a gateway to NbS. The need for adequate finance, capacity development and partnerships was highlighted as key enabling conditions to deliver forest solutions at scale.

Furthermore, forests were recognized as a key solution in the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was established at the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December, 2022.

Aligned with the growing momentum for forests, the UN-REDD Programme is focused on supporting scaled-up international REDD+ implementation and the mobilization of finance. We have continued to partner with forest countries in advancing climate goals through the implementation of REDD+, improving capacities to address drivers of deforestation, to progressively meet high quality jurisdictional standards and to access diverse funding sources, including through Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF).

Strong partnerships are key to scaling up ambition, action and finance. UN-REDD is also a founding partner of the Green Gigaton Challenge, a global effort to catalyze funds to transact one gigaton of high-quality emissions reductions from forest-based, natural climate solutions by 2025 and annually after that.

As we shift from commitments and pilots to implementation and scale up, we hear more and more that key elements on the critical path to heightened delivery include forest and climate finance, the nexus with agriculture and food systems, safeguards and social inclusion, local action, gender and the role of and support for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). In response to these increasing demands from partners, UN-REDD is continuously aligning its work to bring its technical assistance, policy advice, knowledge management and convening role to where it is most needed and impactful. The discussions held at the UN-REDD Country Dialogue on Strategic Finance Pathways for Forest Solutions and the Sixth Executive Board Meeting are good examples of how we strive to listen to our stakeholders and tailor our work to meet expressed needs with the speed and agility required.

We stand at a pivotal moment for forests, and UN-REDD is committed and ready to contribute its part in accelerating actions on forests and climate.