Three Brazilian organisations have unveiled a concept note on a Tropical Forests Mechanism (TFM) designed to help fund efforts to protect and grow tropical forests globally.

Amazon 2030, with support from BVRio and the Igarape Institute, created the mechanism to support the Brazilian government’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), announced at COP28. This global instrument aims to mobilise $250 billion to preserve rainforests in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.

The proposed TFM aims to generate global financial support by encouraging resource-intensive sectors to contribute a minimum of $1 per barrel of oil produced, potentially generating up to $30 bln per year. The mechanism also supports imposing a $3,000 penalty for each hectare of deforestation, mirroring Brazil’s proposed TFFF strategy to incentivise countries to reduce forest loss. 

“Tropical forests provide ecosystem services of inestimable value to humanity and are at the same time victims and heroes of climate change,” said Tasso Azevedo, former general director of the Brazilian Forest Service and collaborator at Amazon 2030.

“We need an agile and simple global mechanism that mobilises large amounts of resources to protect and restore tropical forests. This is the core of the Tropical Forest Mechanism proposal.” 

The TFM, published ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting, uses ‘hectares of forests’ rather than ‘tonnes of carbon’ as its primary metric, supporting the provision of environmental services like carbon storage, biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, water retention, and benefits to forest stewards and residents. 

By Dimana Doneva – dimana@carbon-pulse.com