Shaping the deforestation roadmap – Global Canopy’s evidence to the COP30 Presidency

Global Canopy has submitted its contribution to the COP 30 Presidency Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030.  Rooted in our science-based data innovations, it highlights the central barriers facing action as well as the levers that can drive change.

The roadmap

Specific measures to halt and reverse deforestation did not make their way into the final text of the COP30 agreement. But building on the spirit of the global mutirão, which was so much a part of the conference, the Brazilian Presidency promised to develop a specific ‘Roadmap on Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030’. The roadmap is designed to shape how we deliver on a pledge that was first made in the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use back at COP26 in Glasgow.

Observer organisations like Global Canopy were invited to provide expertise. This article details our responses (submitted on 31 March 2026) which are rooted in our data and initiatives, including Trase, Forest 500 and Floresta 250 – Cattle.

What are the most critical barriers preventing the halting  and reversing of deforestation and forest  degradation?

Agriculture is the ultimate driver of 90-99% of tropical deforestation. That means addressing the structures and incentives within markets for agricultural commodities is essential to combat deforestation and forest degradation. As part of our evidence we listed seven critical barriers preventing progress.

• Limited financial, technical and institutional resources to enable strong and consistent enforcement of land governance and regulation in commodity-producing countries.

• Lack of an enabling regulatory environment in commodity-producing countries that supports systemic anti-deforestation measures within high-risk sectors.

• Public subsidies and concessional finance provided to activities that are linked to deforestation, without sufficient safeguards to ensure transparent compliance with environmental standards.

• Lack of robust protection of the human rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in forest territories, including lack of attention by supply chain companies and financiers to how their suppliers and portfolio companies are involved in human rights abuses.

• Inaction by companies and financiers in both commodity-producing and importing markets on deforestation linked to their supply chains and portfolios.

• Insufficient action by governments in key importing markets whose imports and consumption are driving deforestation and associated negative effects in producing countries.

• Inadequate action by governments on tackling global heating, including the phasing out of fossil fuels. In 2024, nearly half of tropical primary forest loss was caused by fire.

What potential levers exist for accelerating the implementation of the commitment to halt and  reverse deforestation and forest degradation?

In our submission we focused on five.

1. Land use, governance and regulation

Fostering an enabling regulatory environment that supports systemic anti-deforestation measures is key, as is enhancing the political representation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in forest territories, and strengthening the protection of their human rights, including land tenure. 

Robust supply chain due diligence measures (e.g. best practice frameworks, policies, legislation) by all countries involved in commodity production, trade and consumption can drive change. As can the provision of support and financial incentives (including from importing countries) to enhance the enforcement of environmental and land-use regulation by commodity-producing countries.

2. International cooperation

Deforestation is a global issue, so increasing collaboration and alignment across international and regional initiatives can enhance political coherence in multilateral spaces as well as in bilateral relationships. Strengthening international forums would also facilitate knowledge exchange, drive innovation, mobilise finance, and support alignment of approaches.

3. Public and private finance

Currently national fiscal spending includes finance for activities linked to deforestation. Redesigning them – for instance to reallocate public subsidies or introduce conditions on concessional finance – can drive change. We also need legal obligations requiring financial institutions to take steps to assess, disclose and address their exposure to deforestation through their investments and portfolios, including through due diligence, expectation setting, engagement, and potential reallocation of capital from companies that fail to address deforestation risks. 

These measures should be coupled with better integration and utilisation of different sources of climate and nature finance, including through global funds and development banks, to catalyse and support mechanisms dedicated to forest conservation.

4. Technical and sectoral investment

Investment and support (including financial support from commodity importing countries) for monitoring, reporting and verification systems, including the development of national traceability norms, standards and systems.

There should also be investment in landscape and jurisdictional initiatives (including material support from importing countries), with a focus on high-risk regions and investment in harmonising data frameworks and best practice around business and finance measures to assess, disclose and address their exposure to deforestation through their supply chains and portfolios.

5. Education

Awareness campaigns to shift patterns of consumption in alignment with Target 16 of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. This should address consumption in the highest income countries, as well as domestic markets in commodity-producing countries where these are significant.

What country, regional or sector experiences,  best practices, and lessons learned can be shared regarding forest conservation and restoration?

A focus on the experiences of specific communities, regions and landscapes is critical. The Amazon Soy Moratorium was a major success as the first market-wide voluntary initiative to significantly reduce soy grown on deforested land from global value chains. Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change found that as a result of the Moratorium, “between 2006 and 2023, the area dedicated to soybeans in the Amazon biome grew 427%, without impacting deforestation.”

Between 2008 and 2022, Indonesia’s palm oil sector has seen significant increases in supply chain transparency, alongside decreases in deforestation linked to palm oil expansion, even though production increased. In 2018–2022, deforestation for industrial palm oil was 32,406 hectares per year – only 18% of its peak a decade earlier, in 2008–2012. The sector is also notable for its widespread adoption of zero-deforestation commitments. Although Indonesian forests continue to be at risk of deforestation for palm oil, these experiences have important lessons for other sectors looking to advance on the transparency which supports effective supply chain measures. 

Alongside these examples there is already a significant body of established best practice which global supply chain companies and financial institutions can adopt to tackle deforestation in their value chains and portfolios. This includes the Accountability Framework roadmap and Global Canopy’s Finance Sector Roadmap built on the AFi’s principles and guidance. Swedish pension fund Andra AP-fonden (AP2) has applied this to carry out due diligence on its deforestation-related risks and impacts, in an approach which can be replicated by other financial institutions.

Read our full submission