Commitments totaling $400 million over five years have been made by 13 climate philanthropies to establish the Forests, People, Climate collaborative, which aims to end and reverse tropical deforestation, while delivering just and sustainable development.

Announced during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, the latest funding will support safeguarding forests and assisting the Indigenous and local communities stewarding them, shifting finance and markets to favor standing forests, and strengthening public support and advancing strong policy. With an emphasis on Brazil and the Amazon, Indonesia, and the Congo Basin, the collaborative will work to build on the strength of organizations such as Shandia, a funding platform that is managed by Indigenous organizations with decisions made only by Indigenous peoples, and identify areas where more funding is needed to enable approaches.

The collaborative aims to mobilize another $1.2 billion in additional philanthropic support over the next five years, and combined with an already committed $380 million, has raised a total of $780 million. Initial collaborative funders include the ClimateWorks, David and Lucile Packard, Ford, Children’s Investment Fund, Gordon and Betty Moore, Grantham, Klarman Family, and William and Flora Hewlett foundations; the Climate and Land Use Alliance; Good Energies, Ballmer Group; Instituto Arapyaú; and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.

“This effort isn’t only about raising more money,” said Climate and Land Use Alliance executive director Lindsey Allen. “We need donors committed to ensuring funding actually moves to the places where it will have the greatest impact—which means much more funding needs to flow to the tropical forest countries and to Indigenous-led and community-based organizations in particular.”

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