World leaders agree deal to halt deforestation

Historic declaration at Glasgow climate conference commits countries to ending major cause of CO2 emissions

- Patrick Greenfield, Jonathan Watts, Phoebe Weston and Fiona Harvey GLASGOW

World leaders have agreed a deal that aims to halt and reverse global deforestation over the next decade as part of a multibillion-dollar package to tackle human-caused greenhouse gas emissions .

Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro and Joe Biden were among the leaders who committed to the declaration at Cop26 in Glasgow to protect vast areas, ranging from the eastern Siberian taiga to the Congo basin, home to the world’s second-largest rainforest. Land- clearing accounts for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, largely for agricultural products such as palm oil, soy and beef.

Boris Johnson unveiled the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use at an event attended by the US president, Joe Biden, the Prince of Wales and the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo. The agreement came as more than 120 leaders gathered to thrash out fresh commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that key countries have failed to step up.