Nature And Youth Take Focus On Day 8 Of COP30
COP30 in Belém highlights nature-centred climate action and youth engagement, with new forest finance facilities, land tenure commitments, regenerative farming investments and methane pathways presented alongside youth and Indigenous-led dialogues
On Day 8 of COP30, countries and partners demonstrated how putting nature at the centre of climate action drives progress for people, economies and the planet. Across the agenda, leaders advanced tools, finance and community leadership to support implementation, reinforce multilateral cooperation and back those on the frontlines of climate impacts.
A major milestone was the operationalisation of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), described as the largest and most ambitious fund in the history of forest conservation. With partners from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China and lessons from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) governance models such as the Dedicated Grant Mechanism, TFFF is framed as redefining climate finance through long-term, investment-driven incentives and a pathway for direct community access.
This momentum was accompanied by progress on land tenure, as donors reported that they had exceeded the USD 1.7 billion IPLC Land and Forest Tenure Pledge one year early and renewed support for USD 1.5–2 billion through 2030. Fourteen countries endorsed the first global Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, which aims to strengthen rights across 160 million hectares, with Brazil pledging at least 59 million hectares. Both the pledge and the commitment are set to be implemented over a five-year period.
New initiatives sought to deepen a nature-positive shift. The Bioeconomy Challenge was presented as a global effort to operationalise Brazil’s 10 High-Level Principles on bioeconomy, while the Scaling JREDD+ Coalition brought together governments, Indigenous groups and market actors to expand jurisdictional forest protection and support the Forest Finance Roadmap, which aims to help close the USD 66.8 billion annual finance gap for tropical forests. Partners also introduced the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub, targeting improved wildfire resilience, and highlighted that Brazil’s Earth Investment Engine has secured more than USD 10 billion for nature-based solutions, above its original USD 5 billion goal.
Youth, Indigenous Voices Drive Action
Youth leadership featured across the Blue and Green Zones. In the Children and Youth Pavilion, Youth Climate Champion Marcele Oliveira convened 30 children and young people from Brazil and other countries for “From Listening to Action”, a dialogue on how children experience the climate crisis and wish to shape solutions, ending with a manifesto from Indigenous youth calling for clean water, oil-free rivers and respect for all living beings. At a ministerial-level session on the COP30 Action Agenda, Oliveira and representatives from youth organisations outlined ways to scale youth contributions across implementation efforts. In the Blue Zone, a High-Level Intergenerational Dialogue brought children together with leaders including Mary Robinson, Ana Toni and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim to discuss climate policies that address child rights and future generations.
At the Indigenous Pavilion, members of Brazil’s Indigenous Climate Change Committee held a dialogue on how Indigenous peoples are developing their own adaptation plans in response to accelerating climate impacts. Speakers described the committee’s history and structure, its role in national Indigenous adaptation planning and specific experiences such as Roraima’s initiatives, highlighting the role of knowledge systems, territorial governance and youth leadership.
The day’s announcements also included updates from the COP Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes, with more than 40 organisations reporting over USD 9 billion in investments covering more than 210 million hectares and 12 million farmers by 2030, and the Global Methane Status Report 2025, which underlined both progress made and the remaining effort required to meet the Global Methane Pledge.
