Bonn Climate Conference 2026: Countries debate over how to halt deforestation & who pays for the transition

At the Bonn Climate Conference (SB62/SB64), countries failed to converge on a unified approach to the COP30 forest roadmap aimed at halting and reversing def...

What Happened

At the Bonn Climate Conference (SB62/SB64), countries failed to converge on a unified approach to the COP30 forest roadmap aimed at halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.
Rainforest nations — led by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations including Guyana and Suriname — demanded predictable, sovereign-level payments for conserving standing forests, arguing the current global economy incentivises deforestation while penalising conservation.
Developed countries, including the European Union, Switzerland, and France, prioritised supply-chain regulation, market integrity, accountability frameworks, and biodiversity credits over direct sovereign payments.
Three fundamental unresolved issues remain: the design of finance mechanisms, the definition of "forest degradation," and accountability and transparency frameworks including prevention of double-counting.
The COP30 forest roadmap is a non-binding structured process, not a negotiated UNFCCC treaty; discussions will continue through 2026 toward COP31.

Static Topic Bridges

REDD+ — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

REDD+ is the UNFCCC framework that enables developing and rainforest nations to obtain financial value for measurable, verified reductions in deforestation and forest degradation. It goes beyond preventing deforestation ("RED") to include conservation of existing forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks — hence the "+" suffix. REDD+ activities are anchored in Article 5.2 of the Paris Agreement, which explicitly encourages parties to implement and support results-based payments for forest conservation. The Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (adopted at COP19, 2013) provides the full methodological and financing guidance for implementation.

Full form: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (plus conservation, sustainable management, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks)
Embedded in Article 5.2 of the Paris Agreement (2015); operational framework via the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (COP19, 2013)
67 developing countries have reported REDD+ activities to UNFCCC; 24 countries collectively reported over 14 billion tonnes of CO₂ reductions
Results-based payments under REDD+ can be channelled through Article 6 carbon market mechanisms (Art. 6.2 bilateral ITMOs; Art. 6.4 multilateral mechanism)
21 countries are now eligible to seek results-based finance under REDD+

Connection to this news: The Bonn standoff is essentially a dispute over how to operationalise results-based REDD+ payments — whether through sovereign direct transfers demanded by rainforest nations or through market-based mechanisms favoured by developed countries. The COP30 roadmap is the first structured attempt to align national forest strategies with these financing models ahead of 2030.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement — Carbon Market Mechanisms

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement establishes frameworks for voluntary international cooperation in achieving NDC targets through carbon markets and non-market approaches. It comprises three pillars: Article 6.2 (bilateral trading of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes — ITMOs between countries), Article 6.4 (a UN-supervised multilateral carbon crediting mechanism, successor to the Kyoto CDM), and Article 6.8 (non-market approaches). Rules for Article 6.2 and 6.4 were finalised at COP29 (Baku, 2024).

Article 6.2: Country-to-country bilateral trading of ITMOs; requires corresponding adjustments to avoid double-counting
Article 6.4: Multilateral crediting mechanism supervised by the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body; replaces Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Article 6.8: Non-market approaches — capacity building, technology transfer, finance, not involving carbon credits
COP29 (Baku, 2024) finalised the operational rules for both 6.2 and 6.4 after years of stalled negotiations
REDD+ sovereign credits can flow through Article 6.2 bilateral arrangements

Connection to this news: Rainforest nations are pushing for REDD+ credits to be recognised as sovereign Article 6.2 ITMOs — allowing them to sell verified deforestation reductions directly to other countries as NDC contributions. Developed countries are demanding robust integrity safeguards to prevent double-counting and inflated credits.

UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies — SB62/SB64 and the Bonn Process

The UNFCCC process operates through two subsidiary bodies that meet twice a year — at mid-year in Bonn and at the annual COP. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) handles methodological and technical issues; the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) addresses compliance, finance, and support. Bonn meetings prepare the technical groundwork that COPs convert into decisions. They do not themselves adopt binding decisions.

SBSTA and SBI meet twice annually: mid-year in Bonn (Germany) and alongside the annual COP
COP30 is scheduled for Belém, Brazil, November 2025 (already held); subsequent COP31 is the next target
The COP30 Forest Roadmap is a Presidency-led structured dialogue — outside the formal negotiated UNFCCC text, making it non-binding
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — a supply-chain law restricting imports of 6 commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, wood) linked to deforestation — is the developed-country regulatory approach being referenced in these negotiations

Connection to this news: The Bonn discussions represent the first formal multilateral review of the COP30 Forest Roadmap. The inability to agree on finance models at SB62 means that the roadmap's 2030 target remains aspirational without a financing architecture to back it.

UNFCCC CBDR-RC Principle and Forest Finance

The principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), enshrined in Article 3 of the UNFCCC (1992), forms the normative foundation for demands by developing countries that developed nations provide climate finance. In forest negotiations, this translates to the argument that developed countries, having historically driven industrial emissions, have an obligation to compensate tropical forest nations for forgoing development revenues by conserving standing forests.

CBDR-RC: Article 3.1 of the UNFCCC (1992); reaffirmed in Paris Agreement preamble
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), established at COP16 (2010), and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank are the main multilateral vehicles for forest finance
Developed countries pledged $100 billion/year climate finance by 2020 (New Collective Quantified Goal — NCQG — negotiations now ongoing)
The Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use (COP26, 2021) committed over 140 countries to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030

Connection to this news: The finance gap — how much money flows, via what instrument, and with what conditionality — is precisely what Bonn failed to resolve. Rainforest nations insist sovereign direct payments are the only model that avoids bureaucratic leakage and reaches forest-dependent communities.

Key Facts & Data

COP30 Forest Roadmap target: halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030
Warsaw Framework for REDD+ adopted: COP19, Warsaw, December 2013
Paris Agreement Article 5.2: dedicated REDD+ provision; rules for results-based payments
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): restricts imports of 6 commodities linked to deforestation (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, wood)
67 developing countries have reported REDD+ activities to UNFCCC
14 billion tonnes of CO₂ reductions reported by 24 REDD+ countries — ~2.5× annual US GHG emissions
Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests (COP26, 2021): 140+ countries committed to halt deforestation by 2030
COP30 was held in Belém, Brazil; COP31 is the next target milestone for forest roadmap convergence