This year represents a critical moment for the global community to accelerate action and deliver on commitments to collectively reduce deforestation and forest degradation – and to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The most recent call for action, the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use, which was signed by 141 governments, represents a strong confirmation of countries’ commitments to this life-sustaining cause. The declaration states that halting deforestation requires concerted action from local to global levels – and from both within and outside the forest sector, most notably in terms of transforming agriculture and food systems, and ensuring and promoting sustainable and legal supply chains.

A wide array of coalitions, initiatives and programmes are helping to accelerate progress in this direction, including the UN Secretary General’s call to turn the tide on deforestation, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the UN-REDD Programme. In this session, high-level speakers from governments and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) will discuss how to accelerate the delivery of forest solutions at scale – as well as the investments and policies needed to achieve success.

Objectives

This event will explore key opportunities and challenges regarding:

1. Forest-based and land use mitigation actions in Nationally Determined Contributions
2. Public and corporate investments in forests as the most mature nature-based solution
3. Transforming food systems and achieving long-term sustainable change at a landscape level
4. Legality frameworks and governance

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