Brazil, 8th July 2025 – In a declaration adopted at the group’s summit, the bloc urges sponsor countries to announce “ambitious contributions” to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility
In declarations adopted at the 17th BRICS Summit, held between Sunday (July 6) and Monday (July 7) in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), the group’s leaders expressed support for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a mechanism proposed by Brazil aimed at providing tropical forest countries with large-scale, predictable, performance-based payments to maintain and expand forest cover.
Launched at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, the TFFF is expected to be delivered at COP30, the UN Climate Conference to be held in Belém (Pará state) in November under the Brazilian presidency.
“We welcome the plans to launch the Tropical Forest Forever Facility in Belém, at COP30, and recognize it as an innovative mechanism designed to mobilize long-term, results-based financing for tropical forest conservation. We encouraged potential donor countries to announce ambitious contributions, in order to ensure the Facility’s capitalization and timely operationalization”, states the Rio de Janeiro Declaration, signed by the heads of state and government on Sunday.
The BRICS Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance, released this Monday, further noted that the TFFF “has the potential to be a promising blended finance instrument to generate a predictable and long-term funding stream to finance the conservation of standing forests”. An innovation of the Brazilian presidency, the document calls on developed countries to fulfill the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and to meet the target of providing US$300 billion per year in climate finance to developing countries by 2035.
“The Global South has envisioned and is building an instrument that will use public funds to leverage private capital at a ratio of 1 to 4, with the goal of protecting tropical forests – a decisive contribution to the planet’s climate regulation,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva, who attended the summit alongside President Lula. “BRICS support is essential for the TFFF to become operational by COP30 and to integrate efforts to mobilize US$1.3 trillion in annual climate finance by 2035, as agreed at COP29 in Baku.”
President Lula also mentioned the TFFF in the opening of the third plenary session of the summit, focused on “Environment, COP30, and Global Health.” “The BRICS Framework Declaration on Climate Finance, which we adopted today, lays out essential sources and alternative models for climate financing. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which we will launch at COP30, will remunerate the ecosystem services provided to the planet,” he said.
The TFFF has been consolidating itself as a new model for global climate finance. During London Climate Action Week, held from June 21 to 29, the initiative received support from both potential beneficiaries and sponsor nations, as well as from the private sector and multilateral organizations (more on this at this link).
Model
The TFFF’s financing model combines public investment with private capital mobilization, aiming to raise around US$4 billion annually to be distributed among tropical forest countries. Countries will receive payments proportional to the area of conserved tropical and subtropical moist forest, after satellite image verification confirming deforestation levels below an agreed threshold. Deductions will be made for each hectare deforested or degraded.
This amount represents three to four times the discretionary budgets of the Environment Ministries in major forested countries, and dozens or even hundreds of times more than current payments from the voluntary carbon market. In other words, the TFFF could have a transformational impact on national forest conservation policies.
The TFFF differs from traditional models in several keyways. It operates as a revenue-generating investment fund, rather than a donation-based mechanism; it pays for results, rather than financing individual projects; it rewards standing forests, instead of compensating for avoided deforestation; and it maintains a close dialogue with Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities, who play a direct role in forest protection. The mechanism proposes allocating at least 20% of each country’s payments to these populations.
Tropical forests regulate the global climate, host irreplaceable biodiversity, supply fresh water, and support the livelihoods of billions of people. Humanity’s survival depends on them. The TFFF offers a transformative opportunity to significantly scale up financial support for tropical forest countries.
–ENDS–
