Mario Boccucci is head of the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD).

This year will present us with a unique opportunity to put forests at the forefront of climate implementation. As one of the most effective solutions we have to climate change, forests can be a game-changer, and we should seize the moment to ramp up investments.

Strengthening international cooperation and unlocking finance for forests will enable forest-based mitigation to reach its potential and also make a real difference to the planet’s health and people’s lives.

Forests are more than a network of trees. Covering a third of the world’s land mass, they are vital carbon sinks, helping to avert major climate change impacts. The conditions must be put in place to enable this to continue. Forests also provide food security and sustainable livelihoods for more than 1.6 billion people – from Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon to herders in the Sahel.

Destroying forests also hurts economies. With an estimated economic value of US$150 trillion and contributing directly to the livelihoods of 90 percent of more than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty, forests can support more than 86 million jobs. Investments in forests will create even more jobs and support livelihoods. Furthermore, every $1 spent on forests returns an investment of $9.

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We have already seen that forest-based mitigation is impactful. Processes like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) have demonstrated that investing in forests delivers real emissions reductions, strengthens economies, and secures livelihoods.

In Ghana, farmers growing sustainable cocoa earn more while keeping forests intact. In Indonesia, restoring mangroves helps fishing communities thrive while protecting them from storms. Costa Rica and Viet Nam have proven that sustainable forestry and ecotourism can lift people out of poverty and contribute to local economies.

UN-REDD Programme gets results

Globally, over 20 countries have reported a reduction of almost 14 billion tons of carbon dioxide – real progress. The UN-REDD Programme has directly provided support to these countries, mobilizing $1 billion in REDD+ financing since inception, including $350 million in results-based payments, proving that forest protection is practical, effective, and scalable.

Over time, we’ve also seen progress in REDD+ efforts to ensure that everyone – including Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women and youths – have a stake and role in forest protection under more equitable and fair terms. In addition, we have seen improvements in integrity, transparency,  accountability, and carbon monitoring.

At least a quarter of the world’s land area is owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and they must be helped to become effective stewards of forestland. Indigenous Peoples and local communities are our real partners in achieving climate goals and curbing deforestation long-term.

But if we fail to drastically scale-up financing and support for forests, this golden opportunity 2025 presents us with will stall. A UN Environment Programme report published late last year estimated that restoration finance needs to quadruple from 2022 levels of $64 billion to $296 billion by 2030 to reach global restoration targets while contributing to climate and biodiversity goals. Meanwhile, harmful subsidies for industries driving deforestation continue to flow. 

Funding through carbon markets – with improved transparency, human rights protections, and environmental integrity – will be part of broader elements and finance to enable countries to deliver on their specific climate goals and ensure transformational change that limits the risk of reversals, with significant additional benefits. Along with collective action, this will support decarbonization efforts and make a real difference, allowing us to change the course of the next ten years.

COP30 turning point in the Amazon

This year’s COP climate conference will take place at the heart of the Amazon, a region that symbolizes both the promise and peril of our moment. It’s a turning point.

Governments, businesses, financial institutions, and multilateral organizations must scale up forest finance, phase out harmful subsidies, and put forests at the center of climate action, and of economic and security strategies.

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Having worked on forest conservation across the globe for 30 years, it has been a privilege to work alongside so many forest and climate champions – including UN-REDD Programme partners – who have devoted all their time and efforts to protecting forests. We have unprecedented opportunities and challenges ahead of us – and I hope this short reflection is useful to see the forests and the trees.

It is especially relevant on the International Day of Forests, which may enable people new to the forest agenda to understand and engage.

Forest solutions are real and there is evidence they deliver. They provide multiple benefits thanks to a massively growing movement of champions across all stakeholders. REDD+ has been tested and proven to work. We now have a global mechanism for forest and climate action, finance and results that works.

Our collective effort should now focus on massively scaling up implementation and finance.

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2025 is the year to invest in forests – and the people who depend on them