Brazil Secures $5.57 Billion Boost as COP30 Forest Fund Reaches Half Its Goal

In Short:

On day one of COP30’s Leaders’ Summit, Brazil chalked up a diplomatic win: more than half of its much-touted $10 billion target for the Tropical Forests Forever Fund is now, at least on paper, secured. Brasília has been eager to show that its flagship initiative can coax real money—not just warm words—out of wealthy partners.

The tally so far is $5.57 billion in public commitments. Brazil, which seeded the effort with a $1 billion pledge back in September, persuaded Indonesia to match that sum. Norway, long the benefactor of tropical conservation, added another $3 billion. And France, never one to miss a climate stage, chipped in €500 million, roughly $557 million.

It’s an encouraging start for a fund meant to bankroll the protection of tropical forests worldwide—a task that has historically suffered from political cycles, fickle donors, and the awkward truth that preserving trees often yields fewer immediate returns than cutting them down.