Keynote Address
Towards Strengthening Forest-Based Climate Actions Beyond 2024
DESA SDG Pavilion Event on Forests at UUNFCCC COP27
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address this important event today and reiterate the vital link between healthy forests and a healthy planet, which the General Assembly recognized when it adopted the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) and its six Global Forest Goals (GFGs).
Forests are central in accelerating solutions to mitigating and adapting to climate change. These terrestrial ecosystems have already removed nearly one third of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and can do much more through sustainable forest management.
This is why we must push to meet target 1.1 of the Global Forest Goals that aims to increase global forest area by 3 per cent by 2030.
As part of the push, we need to support developing countries to realize the goals of the UNSPF, by building their capacity to develop and invest in sustainable forest management.
One way to accomplish this, is to strengthen the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network that supports countries to mobilize funding from all sources for sustainable forest management and facilitates their access to information on forest funding opportunities. The Network also serves as a critical platform for sharing lessons learned and good practices in forest financing.
In addition to country-level support, we must do more at the global level to highlight the crucial importance of the forest-climate nexus.
The upcoming SDG Summit in 2023 is an opportune moment, as is the upcoming midterm review of the International Arrangement on Forests, in 2024. We must leverage these opportunities.
Let’s start building momentum today, as we identify concrete actions and forge clear pathways for enhancing the contributions of sustainable forest management to addressing climate change.,
Thank you.