Finance:Tropical Forest Forever Facility
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) is a proposed blended-finance mechanism to prevent the deforestation and degradation of moist broadleaf forests. The goal is to turn forests into a protected assets and provide forested countries with a financial incentive protect them.[1]
The fund would use profits from capital market investments to provide results-based payments to rainforest countries.[2] The mechanism was proposed by the Brazilian government[3] with the aim of launching the facility at COP30 in Belem, Brazil in November 2025.[4]
History
A version of this fund concept was originally proposed by World Bank treasurer Kenneth Lay in the 2000s.[2] The mechanism, then called the Tropical Forest Finance Facility received broader attention through an article Lay co-wrote for The Center for Global Development.[5] The current iteration was announced at COP28 in Dubai, UAE in 2023 by Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.[6]
Government endorsements
The governments of France,[7] Germany,[8] Colombia,[8] the UAE,[8] Malaysia,[8] Singapore[9] and Norway[8] have endorsed the facility or expressed interest in investing. Germany and Norway are amongst the largest donors for tropical forest conservation, along with the UK.[10][11] The UK declined to fund the Tropical Forests Forever Facility at the COP30 summit.[12]
During a visit to Brazil in December 2024, then U.S. President Biden endorsed the TFFF.[13]
Technical advisors
The World Bank, the U.N. Development Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and Campaign for Nature are technical advisors to the TFFF.[4]
Proposed structure
The program would consist of two primary institutions, the TFFF and the Tropical Forest Investment Facility (TFIF).[4]
The TFIF is to be a $125 billion fund,[9] constituted through a mix of public and private investments hosted at a Multilateral Development Bank,[14] possibly the World Bank.[9] These funds are to be invested in predominantly global south sovereign bonds.[15] The profits from the fund, after interest payments to the investors, would be dispersed to the TFFF.
The TFFF uses the funds to reward countries for protecting those forests.
To be eligible to receive funds, a country must:
- Have tropical moist broadleaf forests[15]
- A deforestation rate below 0.5%[2]
- Not be a high-income country (as classified by UNCTAD)[15]
Proposed disbursements
Rainforest countries would receive US$4 for every hectare of intact forest as budget contributions.[16] For each hectare deforested that year, a deduction of US$400 is made from that sum.[15] For each hectare degraded, US$100 are deducted.[15] If deductions exceed the payout, countries are not required to pay a penalty. Previously deforested or degraded ecosystems that are fully restored become eligible for payouts again.
20% of total disbursements are to be passed along by the receiving countries to their "indigenous peoples and local communities".[4]
References
- ↑ Sengupta, Somini; Brown, Claire (2025-11-05). "Brazil Proposes a New Type of Fund to Protect Tropical Forests" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/climate/cop30-amazon-brazil-forest-fund.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Andreoni, Manuela (3 October 2024). "An 'Elegant' Idea Could Pay Billions to Protect Trees" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/climate/brazil-climate-fund-trees.html.
- ↑ Chase-Lubitz, Jesse (19 December 2024). "How did Brazil slash deforestation — and can others recreate the win?" (in en). https://www.devex.com/news/how-did-brazil-slash-deforestation-and-can-others-recreate-the-win-108871.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chase-Lubitz, Jesse (10 March 2025). "Scoop: Brazil hammers out details of forest fund ahead of COP30" (in en). https://www.devex.com/news/scoop-brazil-hammers-out-details-of-forest-fund-ahead-of-cop30-109593.
- ↑ de Nevers, Michele; Lay, Kenneth; Wolosin, Michael; Bliss-Guest, Patricia (14 June 2018). The Tropical Forest Finance Facility. https://www.cgdev.org/publication/tropical-forest-finance-facility. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ↑ "Brazil proposes global forest conservation fund at COP28". Reuters News. 1 December 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/brazil-proposes-global-forest-conservation-fund-cop28-2023-12-01/.
- ↑ "Visita ao Brasil do Presidente da França – Declarações na área ambiental" (in pt-BR). Ministério das Relações Exteriores. https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/canais_atendimento/imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/visita-ao-brasil-do-presidente-da-franca-2013-declaracoes-na-area-ambiental.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "At COP16, five countries commit to Tropical Forest Finance Facility" (in en-GB). Secretaria de Comunicação Social. https://www.gov.br/secom/en/latest-news/2024/10/at-cop16-five-countries-commit-to-tropical-forest-finance-facility.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Beck, Martha Viotti; Iglesias, Somone (14 March 2025). "Brazil Has a $125 Billion Plan to Make COP30 a Rare Climate Success". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-14/brazil-s-125-billion-forest-fund-sets-to-make-cop30-a-rare-success.
- ↑ "Fundo Amazônia: Entenda o que é e de onde vem a verba utilizada" (in pt-br). 3 November 2022. https://www.migalhas.com.br/quentes/376341/fundo-amazonia-entenda-o-que-e-e-de-onde-vem-a-verba-utilizada.
- ↑ Fuoco, Tais (2 December 2023). "UK Commits Additional €35 Million to Brazil's Amazon Fund". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-02/uk-commits-additional-35-million-to-brazil-s-amazon-fund.
- ↑ Harvey, Fiona (5 November 2025). "UK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forests" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/05/uk-opts-out-of-flagship-fund-to-protect-amazon-and-other-threatened-tropical-forests.
- ↑ House, The White (17 November 2024). "FACT SHEET: President Biden Marks Historic Climate Legacy with Trip to Brazil's Amazon Rainforest" (in en-US). https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/11/17/fact-sheet-president-biden-marks-historic-climate-legacy-with-trip-to-brazils-amazon-rainforest/.
- ↑ DiGirolamo, Mike (16 December 2024). "What's the TFFF? A forest finance tool 'like no other' shows potential" (in en-US). https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/whats-the-tfff-a-forest-finance-tool-like-no-other-shows-promise-pitfalls/.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 "2025 02 24 TFFF Full Concept Note 2.0 - Public (1) (1).pdf". https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mnl9YGBJ-d-1SXEFpVbks2o8aGhYLMte/view.
- ↑ Catanoso, Justin (30 October 2024). "COP16: 'A fund unlike any other' will pay tropical nations to save forests" (in en-US). https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/cop16-a-fund-unlike-any-other-will-pay-tropical-nations-to-save-forests/.
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