India Joins Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF)

• On November 7, 2025, during the Leaders’ Summit of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, India expressed concern that global climate ambition remains inadequate, even after a decade of the Paris Agreement.
• As part of its commitment to collective global action, India joined Brazil’s new global fund for tropical forests — the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) — as an observer.
• India urged developed nations to:
• Accelerate emission cuts,
• Deliver the promised climate finance, and
• Reach net zero much earlier than their current targets.
• India also asked rich nations to invest more and work towards net negative emissions (removing more carbon than they emit).

What Is the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF)?

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), launched on Thursday (November 6), is a Brazil-led global fund designed to reward tropical countries for protecting and expanding forests.

Key Features:

• Mobilisation Goal: TFFF aims to mobilise around USD 125 billion through public and private investment, using returns to pay nations that conserve forests.
• Objective: It was established to create an innovative incentive mechanism that encourages Tropical Forest Countries to protect and conserve forests efficiently, addressing high opportunity and implementation costs.
• Current Challenge: According to TFFF’s official website, most current forest funding focuses on input-based approaches, which are inflexible and ineffective for the complex nature of deforestation.
• TFFF’s Approach: It promotes a transparent, results-based, large-scale financing mechanism that rewards countries taking concrete and measurable steps to maintain and restore forests.

How Will the TFFF Work?

The TFFF model is based on performance-based payments and market correction for ecosystem services.

• Valuing Standing Forests:
  • TFFF addresses market failure by assigning value to the ecosystem services of standing and restored tropical forests.
• Country-Driven Policies:
  • Tropical Forest Country (TFC) governments and communities will design their own conservation policies and determine where funds will be best utilised.
• Performance-Based Payments:
  • Countries that curb deforestation or restore tropical forest cover will receive rewards based on verified performance.
• Funding Mechanism:
  • Unlike traditional grants, TFFF does not rely on donor government aid.
  • It invites sovereign and institutional investors globally to invest in this next-generation financing facility.
• Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples:
  • At least 20% of payments must be directed to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, ensuring equitable benefit-sharing.

Which Countries Are Eligible to Benefit from the TFFF?

The TFFF could support over 70 Tropical Forest Countries (TFCs) that collectively host over 1 billion hectares of moist broadleaf tropical and subtropical forests.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Forest Coverage and Deforestation Rate:
  • Countries must have broadleaf rainforests with an annual deforestation rate below 0.5%, which cannot increase after entry.
• Monitoring and Transparency:
  • Countries must maintain reliable, auditable, and transparent monitoring systems.
• Fair Resource Allocation:
  • Mechanisms must ensure fair distribution of funds to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
• Governance Standards:
  • Countries must sign the initiative’s charter, committing to transparency and accountability.
• Exclusion:
  • High-income countries and those with monoculture forests are not eligible for the program.

How Does TFFF Differ from Other Forest Finance Initiatives?

• Global South Leadership:
  • TFFF is led by Brazil and represents a Global South-driven initiative for forest finance, unlike many donor-driven mechanisms.
• Long-Term and Performance-Based:
  • It offers long-term payments tied to verified conservation outcomes, not short-term grants or carbon credit incentives.
• Complementary Role:
  • TFFF will complement existing mechanisms like REDD+, expanding the pool of forest finance sources.
• Self-Financed Structure:
  • The facility is self-financed via a large investment fund that raises capital from sovereign and institutional investors, ensuring financial sustainability.
• Mutual Benefit Model:
  • The fund provides financial returns both to investors and to Tropical Forest Countries, aligning global financial interests with climate goals.

What Is India’s Role in the Tropical Forests Forever Facility?

• Observer Status:
  • India has joined TFFF as an observer, showing support for Brazil’s collective global action on tropical forest preservation.
• Call for Greater Global Ambition:
  • India emphasized that many nations’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) still fall short of the Paris Agreement goals.
• Equity and Responsibility:
  • India reiterated that developed countries, which have historically overused the global carbon budget, must accelerate emissions reductions and deliver adequate and predictable climate finance.
• Adaptation and Finance:
  • India highlighted that along with mitigation, adaptation must receive focus to manage climate risks and vulnerabilities, particularly in developing nations.
  • Ambassador Bhatia stressed that affordable finance, technology, and capacity building are crucial for implementing ambitious NDCs.
• India’s Climate Achievements:
  • Between 2005 and 2020, India reduced the emission intensity of its GDP by 36%, a goal achieved ahead of schedule.
  • Non-fossil fuel-based power now makes up over 50% of India’s total installed capacity.
  • India’s forest and tree cover has expanded to 25.17% of its geographical area, creating an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (2005–2021).
  • With around 200 GW of renewable energy, India is the world’s third-largest producer of renewable energy.
• Leadership in Global Initiatives:
  • India co-launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) with France in 2015, now uniting over 120 countries to promote affordable solar energy and South-South cooperation.

What Does This Mean for Global Climate Action?

• India called COP30 a chance to reflect on the global response to climate change and to revisit the principles of the Rio Summit, such as equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.
• The country urged developed nations to aim for net-negative emissions, not just net-zero, and to deliver on finance commitments to help developing nations achieve their goals.
• With NDCs 3.0 (2031–2035) due this year, India may submit its updated NDCs ahead or during COP30 (Nov 10–21).

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) marks a paradigm shift in global forest finance, prioritizing performance-based, long-term, and self-sustaining funding.
India’s support and observer role reaffirm its leadership in climate diplomacy, balancing development needs with environmental responsibility, and championing equitable global climate action.