Environmentalists Press Merz to Commit Billions to Amazon Rainforest Fund at COP30

Environmentalists press Merz to specify Amazon pledge announced at COP30

About a dozen environmental groups are pressing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to name a concrete amount for a rainforest contribution he described as a "substantial sum" during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. German officials say the figure is still under internal review.

The proposed fund — the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) — is a flagship initiative that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as COP30 host, wants to present as a major conference achievement. The TFFF aims to channel large-scale, performance-based finance to countries that protect tropical forests.

A coalition of 13 organisations, including Germanwatch, Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Plant-for-the-Planet, has urged Merz to announce at least $2.5 billion in funding during COP30. The groups argue Germany, as the world’s third-largest economy, should step forward — ideally matching Norway, which has indicated plans to contribute $3 billion to the fund over 10 years.

So far, Brazil and Indonesia have each pledged $1 billion. Under the TFFF model, countries that demonstrably protect their forests would receive payments, while those that permit deforestation could face financial penalties.

Brazil’s estimate: the fund could reach a target volume of $125 billion and, after an initial start-up phase, might distribute roughly $4 billion a year — nearly three times the current annual level of international forest finance.

With expectations high for donor countries to step forward, a clear German commitment would both bolster momentum for the TFFF and help shape long-term financing for tropical-forest protection.