Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

Ahead of the important international negotiations in Doha, I wanted to update the House on the plans I have been developing with the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), on international forests and climate change. So today I am outlining new action to tackle deforestation as part of the UK’s international climate change commitments.

Tackling deforestation is a central part of how we address climate change, while reducing poverty and protecting biodiversity. Up to 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, and around 13 million hectares of forest are lost every year. An estimated 1.2 billion poor people depend on forests for their livelihoods, and forests hold up to 80% of global terrestrial species.

Also today, I am pleased that we are joined by other donor countries in setting out priorities on forests for the UN climate conference in Doha and beyond, including on ensuring our respective efforts are co-ordinated and coherent.

Ambitious commitments and actions by forest nations are critical. In that context, I am announcing today that £15 million of the UK’s international climate fund will go towards developing silvo-pastoral systems for climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation in Colombia. This involves supporting smallholder farmers to plant trees on cattle grazing land, to increase biodiversity, improve the livelihood of farmers, reduce carbon emissions, and protect local forests.

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