UK - Brazilian Partnership speech, Nature Day, COP28
Secretary of State Claire Coutinho announces further £35 million to Amazon Fund and new partnerships with Brazil on hydrogen transition and industry decarbonisation.
Good afternoon, everyone.
As steward to one-third of all remaining rainforests and 20% of the world’s biodiversity, Brazil is a climate and nature superpower.
But if the health of the Amazon is critical for the health of the planet … then it’s the world’s responsibility to support the countries, communities and people that protect it.
And I wanted to say… in Portuguese… that Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Brazil, to help deliver its vision for climate, nature, and people.
Earlier today I was in touch with Minister Marina Silva to say how proud I am that our two nations are working so closely together to deliver our shared priorities for people, nature and climate … including through our new Partnership for Green and Inclusive Growth agreed earlier this year.
It is a partnership that is already paying dividends …
Connecting world-leading research institutions like the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Brazilian Museum Emilio Goeldi……
And the Met Office and the National Institute of Amazonian Research on the UK-Brazil Amazon Face project in the forest close to Manaus….. which will generate vital data on the impacts of atmospheric carbon on forest health.
It provides a pathway for connecting businesses and investors in both our countries, covering industries like energy, bioeconomy, and agriculture….
And a platform for further deepening our cooperation as Brazil adopts Presidency of the G20, and then of COP30.
During his bilateral with President Lula in May, the Prime Minister set out the UK’s pledge to invest £80 million in Brazil’s Amazon Fund.
Today, I am thrilled that we are not only able to formalise that contribution, but also to announce up to a further £35 million for the fund, to recognise and help support Brazil’s vision for forests and people.
What’s more, we will be launching 9 new UK PACT projects in Brazil, which will help mobilise finance for green credits for small farmers, and support Brazil’s Plan for Ecological Transition…
And, together with Brazilian Ministers of Industry and Energy, we are launching new Decarbonisation Hubs to catalyze international support for Brazil’s plans for industry decarbonization and hydrogen transition.
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The science is overwhelming.
Along with rapid decarbonisation, action to protect and restore nature offers one of the most promising, affordable solutions to climate change.
Take forests and mangroves.
In addition to their benefits for biodiversity and livelihoods, protecting forests could deliver 30% of the mitigation needed to meet our climate goals.
Fundamentally, there is no prospect of keeping global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees without urgent action to protect, sustainably manage and restore forests.
This is why the UK put forests and nature at the heart of our COP26 Presidency, and we thank the UAE in taking up this cause so energetically for COP28.
We look forward to working together with partners, including Brazil, on carrying forward this work to COP30, and I am pleased that UK and Brazilian senior officials will meet for the first time this week to discuss a prospective COP26 to COP30 Dialogue.
The UK remains steadfast in our commitments.
We are delivering on our pledge to invest £11.6 billion in UK climate finance, including £3 billion on nature, of which £1.5 billion will be for forests.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced £576 million of new UK forest and nature programmes, £465 million of which goes beyond the £1.5 billion commitment to deliver support beyond 2026.
Alongside the Amazon Fund … this includes up to £500 million for Phase 2 of our flagship Investments in Forest and Sustainable Land Use programme, which will benefit half a million people across poor, rural communities, and protect forests across 10 million hectares.
It includes … £30 million for the REDD Early Movers Programme …
£10 million for a new Forest and Farm Facility …
… and £6 million for the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership launched at COP27.
And it also includes the formal launch of the Congo Basin Forest Action Programme … delivering on the PM’s £90m commitment at COP27 … which will protect these unique forests, while supporting local people.
We are making good progress with partners on other key priorities too.
We are working with the 14 largest agricultural commodity traders to ensure that they deliver on the promises they made in Glasgow … to align soy, beef and palm oil production with a 1.5-degree path.
I am pleased to report that on soy … traders like Bunge, LDC, Amaggi and now ADM and Cargill have stepped up to protect biomes like the Brazilian Cerrado from destruction.
And on finance, we are celebrating the first purchase agreements for carbon credits through the LEAF Coalition in Ghana and Costa Rica… which amount to $60 million.
… as well as working through the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership to agree a roadmap to scale results-based payment and high integrity forest carbon markets.
But the challenge remains. Action is now imperative, and time is short.
Delivering on our commitments to climate and nature, and of course on the Sustainable Development Goals, requires political will, finance, and close cooperation…..
…strengthening resolve and deepening partnerships between governments, industry, businesses and citizens.
That’s why we’re here today.
That’s why we’re celebrating this fantastic partnership.
And that’s why the UK and Brazil will work ceaselessly together to deliver the change we so urgently need.
Thank you.