The “REDD+ COP”

The Warsaw Framework (a package of seven decisions on REDD+ made at COP19) demonstrates the international community’s commitment to ensuring REDD+ achieves its potential to reduce emissions, empower people, and conserve biodiversity. The agreements achieved at the 19th COP recognize that REDD+ is working on the ground around the world, delivering social and environmental benefits locally and globally. Addressing the need for sustained financing for REDD+ is the core of Code REDD’s mission, and we applaud acknowledgment that REDD+ finance is a global imperative. Our work to scale demand-side support for REDD+ will continue to emphasize the need for coordinated public and private action on deforestation, and Warsaw solidifies the foundation upon which those partnerships can deliver meaningful results.

Code REDD was thrilled to be apart of COP19 in Warsaw through speaking events hosted by the Global Canopy Programme, the redd desk, and WOCAN. We firmly believe that REDD+ has great potential to benefit local communities and the global climate through collaborative action across the public, private, and civil sectors. It seems that our global leaders also recognized the value of protecting the world’s forest this November in Warsaw.

The seven decisions made regarding REDD+ range from approved text on results based finance, technical decisions on monitoring and verification, and decisions on REDD+ safeguards. While there is still significant work to be done to reduce emissions from deforestation, the text that was approved in Warsaw is a strong signal that REDD+ is a mechanism that the broader international community can rally behind, even in a sea of disagreement on climate change.

The decisions on REDD+ were called the “signature achievement” of the talks and many political leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prince Charles of Wales, expressed their support for the REDD+ mechanism.

For more information on the decisions that were made and why COP19 may be remembered as “the REDD+ COP” see CIFOR’s infographic here.

We hope to see that this support for REDD+ grows and flourishes across all sectors and the mechanism continues to empower people, preserve forests, protect wildlife, and reduce emissions.