LEAF COALITION
CONTEXT
- At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate, the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) coalition came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
About Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition
- The LEAF Coalition was launched on April 22nd by an initial group of governments and leading companies.
- LEAF is a collective of the United States, United Kingdom, Norway governments & others
- The coalition aims to mobilize at least $1 billion in financing, kicking off what is expected to become one of the largest ever public-private efforts to protect tropical forests.
- It would also be to the benefit of billions of people depending on them, and to support sustainable development.
- LEAF was supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- A country willing to participate would need to fulfil certain predetermined conditions laid down by the Coalition.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- Emergent, a US non-profit, is providing a platform to facilitate the transactions to provide finance to these programs, and will serve as LEAF’s administrative coordinator