U.N.’s Forest Protection Goals at Risk, Say Independent Assessors

Specifically, $675 billion a year is invested in exploiting forests versus the mere $2.2 billion a year committed to protecting them, a discrepancy of 307 to 1. To effectively prevent deforestation, the annual sum invested should be $460 billion, more than 200 times the current amount, according to the report.

The latest Forest Declaration Assessment, the work of “a strong and diverse group of research organizations, think tanks, NGOs, and advocacy groups spanning the globe,” is sure to add fuel to complaints that UN climate summits generate more headlines than substance. The goal of 2030 was set in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland, at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26.

Even so, not all countries are failing their forests. More than 50 countries still have the potential to halt deforestation by 2030, and they have laid the groundwork for everyone else to follow, according to the assessment. “The report offered several recommendations for governments, private institutions, and civil society, including protecting and securing Indigenous land rights, boosting finance, and channeling subsidies away from industries and activities that harm forests and towards those that help,” Common Dreams reported.