Nigeria may benefit from $1bn mobilised by LEAF at COP26 to reduce deforestation

NIGERIA is eligible to benefit from $1 billion mobilised by The LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) to protect tropical and sub-tropical forests and reduce deforestation.

On Tuesday, the LEAF Coalition announced that it has mobilised $1 billion USD for countries and states committed to increasing ambition to protect tropical and sub-tropical forests and reduce deforestation.

LEAF is a voluntary global coalition bringing together the private sector and governments to provide finance for tropical and subtropical forest conservation commensurate with the scale of the climate change challenge.

The announcement, according to a statement by LEAF, took place on November 2nd as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The Coalition also announced at COP26 that jurisdictions including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, and Vietnam will sign the first Letters of Intent (LOIs) with Emergent, acting as the transaction intermediary for the Coalition, signaling interest in reducing deforestation and receiving payments.

Emergent is a US non-profit created to address the urgent climate and biodiversity crises by accelerating finance to support reductions in deforestation at scale, and serves as the initiative’s administrative coordinator and facilitates LEAF transactions.

The LEAF Coalition looks forward to more agreements in the months ahead.

To date, 23 jurisdictions (countries, states, or provinces) have so far submitted eligible proposals to the Coalition, and are eligible for purchase agreement discussions with Coalition participants.

These jurisdictions submitted proposals via the Call for Proposals held from April – August 2021, and completed an initial technical screening process.

The 23 jurisdictions which have completed this process are: Acre (Brazil); Amapá (Brazil); Amazonas (Brazil); Burkina Faso; Costa Rica; Ecuador; Ghana; Guyana; Jalisco (Mexico); Kenya; Maranhão (Brazil); Mato Grosso (Brazil); Nepal; Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; Para (Brazil); Province of Tshuapa (DRC); Quintana Roo (Mexico); Roraima (Brazil); Tocantins (Brazil); Uganda; Vietnam; and Zambia .

These jurisdictions collectively have the potential to protect up to half a billion hectares of forest, greater than the area of the European Union, and their estimated self-reported emissions reductions amount to several times LEAF’s initial goal of 100 million tonnes of emissions reductions.

Payments will be made upon the delivery of results for performance in the years 2022 through to 2026.

The LEAF Coalition also announced that seven new participants – BlackRock, Burberry, EY, Inditex, Intertek, SAP, and Walmart.org, are joining corporate climate leaders Amazon, Airbnb, Bayer, BCG, Delta Air Lines, E.ON, GSK, McKinsey, Nestlé, PwC, Salesforce, and Unilever.

What began in April with nine private sector participants, anchored by Amazon, has already more than doubled to 19 in total. Participants in the Coalition must be committed to deep voluntary cuts in their own greenhouse gas emissions in line with science-based targets and consistent with the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

In April the LEAF Coalition issued a global Call for Proposals, posted at www.LEAFCoalition.org, for emissions reductions from deforestation verified against the independent and rigorous TREES. TREES stands for The REDD+ Environmental Excellency Standard (TREES)

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.