President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, hosting world leaders for a climate summit, has launched a fund to protect the world's forests, key absorbers of planet-heating carbon.
In what Lula dubbed "one of the main tangible outcomes" expected from the gathering, the so-called Tropical Forest Forever Facility is meant to gather investments of $125 billion from governments and private investors in the long term, with startup funding of $10 billion that has not yet been received.
"When forest destruction reaches irreversible points, its effects will be felt across the world. Forests are worth more standing than cut down. They should be part of the GDP of our countries," said Lula on Thursday.
The two-day summit in Brazil's northern city brings together heads of state and government, ministers, and leaders of international organisations to discuss urgent climate change issues and commitments.
The summit is part of the official events of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will take place from November 10 to 21.
Under the fund, countries conserving their forests will receive $4 per hectare per year, adjusted according to verified performance using satellite monitoring, the UN News reported.
A total of 74 countries are eligible, collectively hosting over one billion hectares of tropical and subtropical forests. Priority areas include the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, the Congo Basin, the Mekong region, and the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, it said.
World 'failed' on 1.5°C limit
Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the world has failed to prevent global temperatures from breaching the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold, warning a temporary overshoot is now inevitable.
"The hard truth is that we have failed to ensure we remain below 1.5 degrees," Guterres told leaders at the Belem Climate Summit in Brazil.
"Science now tells us that a temporary overshoot beyond the 1.5 limit – starting at the latest in the early 2030s – is inevitable."
The UN chief warned even temporary breaching would have "dramatic consequences," exposing billions to unlivable conditions.
Guterres said the World Meteorological Organization confirmed emissions reached another record high last year and continued rising in 2025.
Current national climate plans would lead to above 2.0 degrees of warming even if fully implemented, he said, calling this outcome "moral failure – and deadly negligence."
