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SIGN-ON DEADLINE: EOD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28

 

November XX, 2023

 

Dear Glasgow Declaration Signatories:

The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use (“Glasgow Declaration”), signed almost two years ago, aligned the international community around unprecedented global ambition to protect and restore the world’s climate-critical forests. Committing the 145 signatories to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030,” the Glasgow Declaration was a unified global articulation of the essential role of forest protection and restoration for both climate mitigation and adaptation and the need for international progress, across all forest biomes, toward this critical pillar of climate action.

The realization of that goal, however, will depend on shared accountability that fosters comprehensive, common, and equitable action to protect and restore forests globally.

To promote this global cooperation and effective, timely implementation, the undersigned organizations from around the world are calling on you to support and enable the creation of a Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework at COP28 in Dubai that advances transparency, facilitation, and alignment around the 2030 goals. 

Less than two years after the signing of the Glasgow Declaration, there are already warning signs that signatories are not prepared to deliver on the agreement’s promise. 2022 saw an increase in tropical primary forest loss, as well as continued rates of tree cover loss in boreal and temperate forests. There also continues to be a foundational inequity between the Global North and the Global South, as few developed country signatories have adopted measures to address forest impacts domestically. This places an outsized burden on developing countries and leaves a significant gap in climate and biodiversity action.

In order to achieve the Glasgow Declaration’s transformative vision, we urge that you support the creation of a Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework, a government-led effort that fosters strong implementation through mandatory reporting and enhanced monitoring, policy pledges and financial commitments, and alignment around common standards and outcomes.

This Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework should include the following mechanisms:

·       Transparency: Annual, country-led reporting on rates of deforestation, degradation, restoration, and associated metrics; commitments to address global data gaps, including on rates of primary and old-growth forest loss and protection; and annual reporting on the delivery of public financial contributions.

·       Facilitation and Finance: Policy commitments, including the elimination and redirection of harmful subsidies; financing in the context of non-market approaches for Indigenous-led land stewardship and other mitigation and adaptation efforts.

·       Alignment: Common standards and shared understandings around metrics and responsibilities, and commitments to jointly and synergistically address the climate and biodiversity crises.

The African Ministerial Conference of the Environment recently supported the creation of this Accountability Framework “as a means of driving global progress and promoting greater equity between forest protection standards.” This framework would ensure equitable burden-sharing around climate mitigation and adaptation through promoting implementation across boreal and temperate forests, as well as global cooperation and mobilization of resources toward tropical forest protection. Too often, responsibilities fall disproportionately on those with the fewest resources and least political power.

A Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework would also align with and help support growing marketplace attention to addressing deforestation and degradation. It would also build on the initial progress from governments, including the United States and the European Union, toward monitoring and protecting their own high-integrity forests.

 The actions that participants take this year to place the Glasgow Declaration on a stronger trajectory will determine the outcomes for the world’s forests and, as a result, the wellbeing of present and future generations. By developing a Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework, the Glasgow Declaration signatories can work cooperatively, with common understanding and internationally equitable standards, to achieve the Glasgow Declaration’s 2030 targets and to protect climate-critical forests around the world.

 

Sincerely,