Tropical Forest Forever Facility proposed ahead of COP30

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) has been proposed in Dubai at COP28 and is expected to launch at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, with the latest Concept Note (3.0) published in August 2025.

• Main announcement/action: The TFFF Concept Note 3.0 introduces a mandatory minimum of 20% of funds directed to Indigenous Peoples and Local communities (IPs&LCs), establishes an Advisory Council for IPs&LCs and a Technical and Scientific Panel to advise the Facility Board, requires tropical forest countries to create national grievance mechanisms validated by a third party, and provides an option for funds to move directly from the global facility to national IP&LC agencies. The Facility is expected to be launched at COP30 in November (Belém, Brazil); the Concept Note 3.0 was published in August 2025 and is expected to be updated again before COP30.
• Background and required improvements: The article lists four concrete areas needing strengthening: (1) Investment exclusions — finalize and expand the negative list to fully exclude industrial logging, big agribusiness, biofuels, fossil fuels, mining, and arms; (2) Funds — prioritize results-based payments to Tropical Forest Countries and require sponsor countries to ensure committed funds are additional to existing climate/biodiversity finance; (3) Forest cover eligibility — current 20–30% canopy cover threshold risks rewarding low-integrity forests and should consider tiered payments to protect high-integrity forest; (4) Degradation monitoring — current approach counts only fire scars; other drivers such as logging and fragmentation must be monitored and reported. COP30 should also deliver a concrete Forest Action Plan under the UNFCCC to halt deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.