LONDON — The U.K. will not contribute public money to a flagship tropical forests fund that Brazil wants to make a centerpiece of its COP30 climate summit.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told POLITICO the U.K. was “incredibly supportive” of the initiative, known as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) — but that support would continue with “efforts to unlock private investment.”
The decision risks disappointing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a close ally of U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is due to attend the COP30 leaders’ summit in the Amazon city of Belèm on Thursday. Brazil has pledged $1 billion to the fund.
British ministers had been split over whether the U.K. could commit taxpayers’ money to the plan, given straitened finances at home.
