The U.S. will contribute $1 billion towards an effort to reduce emissions from deforestation, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Speaking at an event in Copenhagen, Vilsack said the U.S. would contribute $1 billion over three years to a $3.5 billion package pledged by Australia, France, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom to jump-start a program — known as REDD+ — to slow and eventually reverse deforestation in the tropics.
"Protecting the world's forests is not a luxury - it is a necessity," said Vilsack. "This substantial commitment is reflective of our recognition that international public finance must play a role in developing countries' efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation."
The funds will be used to build capacities in countries developing REDD + plans.
Vilsack added that the Obama Administration strongly supports REDD+ and sees it as a means for bridging a negotiating gap between industrialized and developing countries.
Several NGOs welcomed the announcement.
"The commitment of the United States announced by Secretary Vilsack today to spend $1 billion over 3 years for building capacity from reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is exactly what is needed to begin to address the global challenge of deforestation," Mark Tercek, President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, said in a statement. "We encourage other nations to join with commensurate commitments to support taking the actions that are urgently needed to begin solving this global problem."
"The President's commitment to jumpstart REDD+ is a powerful and timely signal of the US' commitment to protecting tropical forests and reducing climate change," added said Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union for Concerned Scientists. "It should help drive progress toward a successful deal here in Copenhagen."
"If we manage to stop deforestation, we'll have averted a third of all emissions we need to cut by 2020," Stoltenberg said.
Andrew Deutz, director of international climate policy for The Nature Conservancy, said Wednesday’s deal was "needed to break the logjam of the REDD negotiations here in Copenhagen, and spark the additional funding needed to address the global challenge of deforestation."
But delegates feared an overwhelming amount of work remained as leaders started arriving for the final two days of talks. British Climate Secretary Ed Miliband said that talks, bogged down in procedural wrangling, were at a "very dangerous point."
