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Day 8 of COP30: Placing Nature at the Centre of Climate Action

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Day 8 of COP30, held Monday, 17 November 2025, focused heavily on placing nature at the centre of climate action. The thematic areas covered Forests, Oceans, Biodiversity, Indigenous peoples, Local and traditional communities, Children and Youth, and Small and Medium entrepreneurs. According to the COP30 Communications Team, leaders demonstrated a decisive shift from pledges to practice by advancing tools, unlocking finance, and harnessing community leadership to accelerate implementation and reinforce multilateral co-operation.


The protection and valuing of nature were shown to serve as the manifestation of climate ambition - a vital foundation for resilient societies and a thriving real economy.


Transformative Financial Instruments for Forests


A major milestone of Day 8 was the operationalisation of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), signaling a powerful message that "forests are worth more standing". The TFFF is described as the largest and most ambitious fund in the history of forest conservation. It is reshaping climate finance by shifting from traditional donor-grant models to a public/private blended mechanism, emphasising investment and partnerships rather than grants, and moving from traditional to non-traditional donors.


The TFFF is designed to equip Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) with necessary resources to maintain forest conservation. This is achieved through the Dedicated Finance Allocation (TFFF-DFA), which reserves a minimum of 20% of forest payments for IPLCs, representing an evolving landscape for inclusive, rights-based climate finance.


Discussions explored how proven IPLC governance models, such as the Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM), can inform and strengthen this emerging generation of climate finance facilities. Daniel Hanna, Barclays Group Head of Sustainable & Transition Finance, commented that the initial $5 billion capital mobilised is a successful start that can be built upon to meet high ambitions. The launch was celebrated by Brazil and partners, including the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Colombia, Guyana, the UK, Norway, and China, who also highlighted the complementarity among different financial instruments.


Historic Progress on Land Tenure and Adaptation


Momentum was achieved on the critical topic of land tenure. Donors and governments exceeded the $1.7 billion IPLC Land and Forest Tenure Pledge one year early, with more than 30 donors renewing support for a further $1.5–2 billion through 2030.


Furthermore, 14 countries endorsed the first global Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, which was launched by Brazil, Norway, and Peru. This is the first-ever global commitment on Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ land tenure, aiming to collectively recognise and strengthen tenure rights across 160 million hectares globally. Brazil alone pledged a contribution of at least 59 million hectares. Both the Commitment and the Pledge will be implemented over a five-year period.


In terms of resilience, the Adaptation Fund received tens of millions in new contributions from governments, recognising the importance of strengthening global resilience. These contributions directly support the implementation of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.


New Initiatives to Scale Nature-Positive Growth


Several new global initiatives were launched or advanced:


  • The Global BioChallenge was launched to mobilise large-scale investment for nature-based growth by 2028. This three-year multi-stakeholder platform aims to translate the 10 High-Level Principles (10HLPs) established by the G20 Brazilian Presidency into concrete action, setting a common vision for bioeconomy markets that protect nature while strengthening decarbonisation. The Challenge is backed by the Government of Brazil, NatureFinance, IADB, FAO, UNCTAD, and WRI.


  • The Earth Investment Engine, an illustration of the potential of the bioeconomy in generating resources for forest and biodiversity conservation, secured more than $10 billion in commitments for forest and bioeconomy projects in Brazil by 2027, surpassing its original $5 billion goal. "This is an example of a coordinated investment pipeline of a growing market in Brazil - which provides a blueprint for global efforts to scale nature finance, with evidence of growing momentum in other major markets." (COP30 Brasil Amazonia)


  • The Scaling JREDD+ Coalition was launched, uniting governments (including Costa Rica, Ghana, Guyana, UK, and Norway), Indigenous groups, and market actors. This coalition channels finance to jurisdictional forest protection - paying entire states or countries for measurable reductions in deforestation - to create stable, long-term incentives. The Coalition supports the Forest Finance Roadmap, which aims to close the $66.8 billion annual funding gap for tropical forest protection and restoration. JREDD+ by itself has the ability to raise between $3-6 billion per year by 2030.


  • Co-ordinated global fire prevention advanced with the introduction of the pathway for the delivery of the commitment made in the Belem Leaders Summit: the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub. This initiative aims to strengthen wildfire resilience worldwide, supporting 10,000+ Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge holders in Integrated Fire Management (IFM) activities and bringing over 10 million hectares under improved fire-resilient landscape management by 2028.


In regenerative landscapes, the COP Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes (AARL) reported a surge in investments, with over 40 organisations committing more than $9 billion, covering over 210 million hectares of land and reaching 12 million farmers across 110+ countries by 2030. This investment has quadrupled since 2023.


Methane and Youth Engagement


The Global Methane Status Report 2025 was released, confirming that national methane plans submitted could deliver the largest sustained decline in methane emissions in history if fully implemented. Leaders emphasised that decisive action on methane is a crucial lever for protecting health, strengthening food security, and keeping 1.5°C within reach, but stronger measurement, reporting, and finance are urgently needed.


Youth leadership took centre stage, with youth-focused programming underscoring the expanding influence of younger generations in global climate governance. A High-Level Intergenerational Dialogue in the Blue Zone brought children into direct conversation with global leaders. Furthermore, Indigenous organisations shared community-driven adaptation strategies grounded in territorial governance and ancestral knowledge, with Brazil’s Indigenous Climate Change Committee (CIMC) holding a dialogue on developing adaptation plans in response to accelerating climate impacts.


Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) are attending COP30 as official NGO Observer. This year we are attending in a virtual capacity, providing our members with direct reporting from the heart of the negotiations. We are committed to delivering daily insights and a comprehensive end-of-COP report to ensure you stay fully informed on the outcomes that matter to membership organisations and their members.


For more information and updates on COP30 from us, follow this link.


Agenda for Day 9


Themes: Forests, Oceans, Biodiversity, Indigenous peoples, Local and traditional communities, Children and Youth, and Small and Medium entrepreneurs



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