Politics Brazil: Germany gives one billion for tropical fund
Germany is providing one billion euros over a period of ten years for a new fund to protect the rainforest.
20.11.2025, 00:49
SDA
This was announced by Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan at the World Climate Conference in Belém. "This is about protecting the tropical rainforests, the lungs of our world," explained both SPD politicians.
Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva had also previously reported on Germany's contribution. Her government has launched the Tropical Forest Fund and called for contributions.
Exactly how much money Germany will give was eagerly awaited. During his brief visit to Brazil, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had only announced a "considerable sum", but without being more specific.
Rainforests are very important as the "green lungs of the earth", as they bind large quantities of climate-damaging greenhouse gases, cool the climate through the evaporation of water and are also home to many animal and plant species. In many places, they are threatened by deforestation to create agricultural or grazing land or to mine for gold.
Fund important for the host
For Brazil's government, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) is a prestigious project that it wants to make a success of in its role as host of the UN conference. Countries that preserve their forests are to be rewarded according to the new model. Conversely, they would pay a penalty for every hectare of forest destroyed. This would be monitored using satellite images.
The fund, with a target volume of 125 billion US dollars (around 108 billion euros), could pay out around four billion US dollars a year after some start-up time - at least that is what the Brazilian government has in mind. That would be almost three times the current volume of international financial aid for forests.
Norway has already announced that it will pay three billion US dollars into the fund over ten years. Brazil itself will contribute one billion US dollars, and Indonesia also wants to pay in one billion. Both countries have large tropical forests. In addition to Brazil, the founding members include Colombia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The fund is managed by an Executive Board made up of 18 countries - half of which are tropical forest countries and half industrialized countries. The World Bank will initially act as trustee. In accordance with the guidelines of the Executive Board, it transfers the money to countries with tropical forests; it also provides an extra secretariat for this purpose.
A good 70 developing countries could benefit
A good 70 developing countries could benefit. The recipients can decide for themselves exactly how the money is used. However, an important commitment is that 20 percent will be made available specifically for indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
In the first week of November, at the official launch, the initiative was already supported by 53 countries, including 19 potential state investors, according to Brazil. According to Brazil's ideas, rich countries are to voluntarily contribute an initial 25 billion US dollars. This basic stock is then to be used to mobilize a further 100 billion US dollars from the private sector over the next few years. The managers of the tropical forest fund are to invest the money as sustainably as possible; projects involving fossil fuels are taboo.
