Thank you for contacting me about deforestation, food, and the Environment Bill and I appreciate the concerns you have raised.
To address the footprint of products linked to deforestation, the Government has established the Global Resource Initiative (GRI), led by senior representatives from the private sector and civil society, who will produce a set of recommendations to address the impact of the UK’s commodity supply chains.
Ministers share concerns about deforestation in the Amazon, and the impact on the climate and biodiversity. Since 2012, the UK has invested nearly £154 million in several International Climate Finance (ICF) programmes in Brazil aimed at tackling deforestation. The UK will continue to monitor the situation to monitor the situation in the Amazon closely and raise these critical issues in our ongoing dialogue with Brazil.
ICF is the UK’s mechanism for delivering international climate action. It helps poor countries adapt to climate change, supports the creation of jobs and livelihoods to reduce poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable economic growth. £210m of ICF will be spent between 2016 and 2021 and this will double over the next five years.
The UK fully endorses the New York Declarations on Forests, which aims to end natural forest loss by 2030. At the Paris UN Climate Negotiations in 2015, the UK signed up to a collective pledge with Germany and Norway that will make up to £455bn available to support efforts to tackle deforestation.
