LEAF Coalition announced

LEAF Coalition announced

Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Conservation

In news

• LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition was announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate, 2021.
• It will be one of the largest ever public-private efforts to protect tropical forests
• It intends to mobilize at least USD 1 billion in financing to countries committed to protecting their tropical forests.

About LEAF Coalition

• It is a collective of the governments of the USA, UK and Norway.
• A country willing to participate would need to fulfil certain predetermined conditions laid down by the Coalition.
• The results-based financing model will be used in LEAF.

Significance

• The goal of net zero emissions cannot be reached without bold leadership from the private sector 
• Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection will help in achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 
• It is a step towards achieving the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
• Solve Development versus Ecological Commitment

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

• REDD+ aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation.
• It monetises the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
• REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Tropical Forest

• Tropical forests are closed canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
• They receive more than 200 cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year.
• Temperatures are uniformly high – between 20°C and 35°C.
• Such forests are found in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands.