COP28: 5 developments on forests & commodity-driven deforestation

It’s been a week since COP28 came to a close. Most people were buoyed by the fact that some kind of agreement was reached – and that fossil fuels were explicitly referenced for the first time. Although of course, there are also well-publicised pitfalls and loopholes that lie ahead.

For those of us involved in the other side of the equation – i.e. the nature side – things are equally nuanced. Despite the fact that deforestation is still on the rise – and much of what we are working on is actually about making things ‘less bad’ – there were some positive points that we can take heart from.

Here are my top five noteworthy developments that relate to forests and commodity-driven deforestation.

1. The ‘global stocktake’ – the main negotiated output from COP28 – made the connection between climate change and biodiversity loss, underlining the ‘vital importance of protecting, conserving, restoring and sustainably using nature and ecosystems for effective and sustainable climate action’. For the first time it stressed the need to ‘halt and reverse deforestation by 2030’. Inclusion of such obviously necessary action may seem way too little, too late, but having 190+ countries negotiate and agree to this language is significant.
2. The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership announcements provided the backbone to many of the forest-related developments at COP28 – both global and national-level actions that together add up to a systemic transformation for the future of the world’s forests. Included were country-level packages, regional initiatives, further funding and reports on all pledges made since COP26 at Glasgow.
3. One area of particular relevance for the Tropical Forest Alliance were the announcements from agri-commodity traders who have updated their no-conversion commitments. This builds on the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C that was pledged at COP26 and delivered at COP27, where 14 of the world’s largest agri-commodity traders made progress to implement actions in their supply chains and scale up technical assistance and incentives to support the transition to sustainable soy, cattle and palm oil production. There has been a collective effort on the part of civil society, governments and downstream supply chain actors to encourage companies to recognize their role and to make credible science-based commitments – with this collective effort paying off.
4. Also announced at COP28, was the Pará Cattle Integrity and Development Program – a foundational layer for addressing the biggest driver of deforestation and emissions in Brazil. It marks a huge milestone in the fight against commodity-driven deforestation, with cattle ranching in Brazil historically accounting for almost 24% of global annual tropical deforestation and playing an outsize role in global greenhouse gas emissions. It lays out the details of a mandatory traceability programme for cattle in this Amazonian state. The size of the prize is massive: it will help Pará's producers move into legal production; it moves towards a food system that values natural assets; and it creates more transparency that will impede catastrophic loss of the Amazon and keep the world on a path to under 1.5°C of warming.
5. For all the forest pledges made, the most important factor remains the issue of finance – where is the funding going to come from? While only one example, the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC) initiative is a very tangible example of how that finance can flow differently and lead to changes in practices in key locations. At COP28, IFACC announced that it now comprises 16 signatories with $4.6 billion in commitments. More than $220 million has already been disbursed through 11 financial products in 2022 and 2023. 

As we approach the year end, I’m increasingly aware that we have fewer than 800 days until the end of 2025 – when COP will be held in the Amazon. That provides the much-needed focus that we need rapid implementation if we are to meet our climate and nature goals by then.