President of Colombia celebrates "historic" agreement on deforestation

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(CNN) -

Colombian President Iván Duque described the agreement to end deforestation in 2030 as "historic" in an interview with CNN in the framework of the COP 26 summit in Glasgow.

Leaders of countries representing more than 85% of the world's forests announced on Tuesday a commitment to allocate 8.75 billion pounds (US $ 12 billion) of public funds to protect and restore forests, along with 5.3 billion pounds. (US $ 7.2 billion) of private investment.

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The president of Colombia, Ivan Duque.

(Credit: LUISA GONZALEZ / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

"I think what we've seen today is historic. A $ 12 billion fund. It's nothing we've seen before and also something that we value is 300 million pounds ($ 408.9 million) from the UK government. they are going to dedicate themselves to protecting the Amazon, "Duque told Max Foster.

Among the participating countries, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have significant tracts of forest, which are home to some of the most important carbon sinks in the world.

Deforestation and forest degradation account for around 11% of the world's carbon emissions.

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Concrete actions of Colombia

On the "concrete actions" of Colombia, Duque said: "We have committed to declare 30% of our territory as a protected area in 2022."

He added that the next step will be to mobilize financing to take care of the land and promote natural conservation projects with indigenous communities.

"I think this is not only a bold action but it is a concrete step that we want to take," Duque said.

Climate change Deforestation