Brasília, Brazil, Greenpeace Brazil has projected messages to country delegates at the Pre-COP in Brasilia calling for urgent action to end forest destruction as a new Greenpeace International's poll showed nine out of 10 people surveyed want forests protected to fight climate change.
Photos and videos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.
The messages Greenpeace Brazil projected on the Congress building and on buildings across Brasília, where delegates are meeting, read "COP 30: Act for forests, act for climate" in English; "COP30: Protejam as florestas" in Portuguese.
A staggering 86% of people surveyed in 17 countries across five continents believe that protecting forests is critical in the fight against climate change, according to the new poll, released today, commissioned by Greenpeace International and conducted by Opinium [1]. Results also showed that 82% of people want their governments to take more action on forests, showing overwhelming public support to halt deforestation.
An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Policy Expert, Greenpeace International said: "If we want to keep 1.5°C within sight, COP30 will need to deliver an action plan to end forest destruction by 2030. These poll results show that many people understand the urgency and want governments to act. There is no better moment than at a COP in the Amazon to do so."
The polling was released during the pre-COP in Brasília, where country delegations, Indigenous communities and civil society are meeting ahead of the UNFCCC COP30 to prepare COP outcomes, including on the need to address climate change and biodiversity loss hand in hand.
Poll respondents expressed wanting to see their governments increasingly addressing forest destruction. Additionally, most agree that the most effective results can be achieved with global cooperation through international agreements to end deforestation (77%), and to commit to a new action plan to halt the destruction of forests and other ecosystems (75%). When it comes to forest protection, respondents place the most confidence in Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (78%), well above national governments (49%) or corporations (42%). 75% agree that Indigenous Peoples should receive funding to protect forests.
Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil said: "This overwhelming public support sends a powerful message to governments ahead of COP30, which takes place for the first time in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. World leaders must listen to their people and act on their moral, legal and political responsibilities to end deforestation in order to hold on to the 1.5°C ambition."
Kleber Karipuna, Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) said: "This is a significant survey as it expresses not only the opinion of the vast majority of the population on the importance of keeping forests and all biomes standing and preserved, but also reveals society's trust in Indigenous Peoples to protect the planet's biodiversity. Science has already proven that Indigenous Peoples are the true guardians of the forest. Now, society is reaffirming this and warning that demarcating and protecting our territories is an effective and crucial policy for combating deforestation and confronting the global climate crisis, because we are the answer."
For successful forest protection, Greenpeace calls on global leaders at Pre-COP to:
- Act on their commitments and the UNFCCC target to halt deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, with a decision that goes beyond voluntary pledges [2].
- Provide direct funding for Indigenous Peoples' and Local Communities' solutions to protect and restore forests.
- Regulate and stop funding those who profit from forest destruction.
