SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon everyone. I really wish I could be there with you in
person for the 19th Conference of the Parties in Warsaw. I've been to many of these conferences
and I know how much can be achieved and I'm jealous of all of you being in Warsaw. I was
there the other day. What a remarkable city. One of the highlights of my trip was a walk
downtown and the brilliance of Warsaw's rebirth as you make you way up to the walls of the
Old City is absolutely unmistakable. And you can see it in the meticulous attention to
detail and the adherence to history in the reconstruction. It's a brilliant story and
it's a story that continues to inspire all of us today.
I want to thank the Polish COP Presidency and the Polish people for their very gracious
hospitality. And I also want to thank Secretary Davey and our colleagues in the United Kingdom
for organizing this event. We're enormously grateful to join with Germany, Norway, and
the United Kingdom in our efforts to coordinate support on initiatives for reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+. I'll never forget my first
hike through the majestic or around the majestic fjords, really, of Norway when I was a young
man and ever since I've felt a deep, personal connection with our forests. We all know that
we depend on our forests for the oxygen that we breathe and less well known is that more
than a billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. Forests sustain us, literally,
in every way. And in many ways, they're responsible for our way of life.
America has a deep and abiding conservationist tradition but we - all of us - have a collective
responsibility to protect our forests, all the forests of our planet. And our challenge
is clear. Each year we lose some 13 million square hectares of forests globally. That's
an area about the size of Costa Rica or Greece every year. Greenhouse gas emissions from
deforestation now account for nearly one-third of the global total and most of these emissions
come from the loss of tropical forests and carbon-rich peat lands. In fact, more than
80% of emissions in some developing countries come from forests and other lands.
So this isn't just an environmental issue. It's an economic issue. It's an energy issue.
It's an issue that touches on our deepest values and our basic sense of responsibility
as stewards of this fragile planet that we are privileged to inhabit. That's why I am
proud to announce today that the United States is a founding partner in the new Initiative
for Sustainable Forest Landscapes. Working with Congress and together with the United
Kingdom and Norway, we plan to provide more than $250 million to launch the initiative
and this will be one of the single largest investments that the U.S. Department of State
has made in forests. But there's more to be done. Our new contribution is part of the
U.S. commitment to the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, a key public-private partnership with
the goal of reducing the tropical deforestation caused by the harvesting of critical global
commodities such as soy, beef, palm oil, pulp, and paper. The new initiative will be part
of the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund and it's one of the most exciting initiatives that
we've seen in the land sector. It focuses on the major drivers of deforestation, creating
incentives for developing countries that are ready to make a real change in how they use
their land, especially in vulnerable areas where agriculture encroaches on forests. We
all know the future has an inexorable way of humbling those who try to predict it
too precisely. But we all know that the threat of deforestation and its implications for
changing climate are real, grave, and they are growing. The Initiative for Sustainable
Forest Landscapes is a critical new tool to help us meet our responsibilities to future
generations. It will help countries move forward on REDD+ and continue to make progress on
sustainable land use practices. The United States stands with willing partners in the
fight against global climate change and I look forward to continuing our work together
to ensure a more secure future, not only for forested countries but for the entire planet
that we share. Thank you so much for your partnership in these efforts.