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China has backed a landmark rainforest protection fund launched by Brazil at the Cop30 climate summit on Thursday but is not expected to announce any financial contribution during the event, Brazil’s finance minister said at a press conference. The launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility is one of the main outcomes of this year’s UN climate conference so far. It is a multilateral mechanism designed to reward tropical nations for keeping their forests standing rather than clearing them. Operating as a permanent endowment, the fund will combine public and private investment to generate returns that finance annual payments to forest countries, turning conservation into an asset class rather than a charitable cause. Chinese finance and environment officials have publicly praised the Brazilian-led initiative, calling it an innovative tool for sustainable development, but have so far shown no intention to commit funding. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Brazil expects to complete a first round of investments by 2026, raising at least US$10 billion from national governments. The fund is expected to begin operating once it reaches US$25 billion in public contributions and US$100 billion from private investors. So far, Brazil, Indonesia, France and Norway have pledged a combined total of about US$5.57 billion. Germany is also expected to confirm its contribution on Friday, when Chancellor Friedrich Merz meets President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for bilateral talks. China, meanwhile, is among a group of countries that has expressed support for the fund but are not expected to make financial commitments during Cop. Sources told the Post the topic was discussed in the bilateral meeting between Lula and Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang on Wednesday, but despite repeated praise for the initiative, China’s delegation once again adopted a cautious stance without committing to figures. Asked about China’s absence from the donors list despite its repeated statements of support, Haddad urged patience. He said Beijing, like other potential investors, wants to participate in the design of the fund. “It’s natural with a project that is just being launched. Each country has its own pace and process for making decisions,” he said, adding that contributing to such a mechanism “is not a trivial matter”. “They [the Chinese] are still getting to know how the mechanism works. Even for us, it took two years before we could announce Brazil’s contribution at the UN General Assembly [in New York]. We cannot expect other countries to move at the same speed,” Haddad said. He added that early donors such as Norway, which has pledged the largest contribution so far at US$3 billion, have a long tradition of environmental investment. “It is much easier for their constituencies to understand what this fund represents than for countries that are only now beginning to think big on these issues,” Haddad noted. China has traditionally avoided direct financial contributions to multilateral climate protection funds, preferring instead to pursue bilateral investments in areas such as renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Beijing was joined by Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union in backing the creation of the TFFF during Thursday’s lunch.
