COP30: African Coalition Rejects $125bn Forest Finance Scheme as Corporate Greenwashing
By: Abudu Olalekan
Let’s break this down. COP30 African group rejects $125bn Tropical Forest Forever Facility. Yep. That’s the headline. No sugarcoating it. At the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, a coalition of African groups just said a hard no to this shiny $125 billion plan. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)? They’re calling it a bad idea wrapped in green ribbon.
Launched with fanfare, this thing promises to pay countries for protecting forests. Sounds nice, right? But here’s the catch: the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay (MBPP) Coalition isn’t buying it. They say it’s just a sneaky way to turn nature into a stock market gamble. And honestly? They might have a point.
The TFFF, led by Brazil, claims it’ll dish out $125 billion in “blended finance.” That’s a fancy term for mixing public and private cash. But the MBPP—32 groups strong, including CAPPA and others—says it’s all smoke. No real help for countries actually burning in the climate crisis.
On November 17, 2025, they dropped a statement so sharp it could cut through the summit’s optimism. “This isn’t protection,” they argued. “It’s a fire sale.” The facility, they say, treats forests like tradable stocks. Think of it like this: your ancestral land becomes a commodity. Poof. Gone.
And the payments? $4 per hectare a year. Really? That’s like paying a peasant for the entire ocean. A drop in the bucket. The coalition says it’s an insult to the people who’ve lived off these forests for centuries. Indigenous communities aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re lives.
Here’s where it gets messy. The TFFF’s cash flow works backwards. Investors get paid first. Countries get the leftovers. Imagine your boss taking his cut before you see a dime. That’s the vibe. “It’s a pyramid scheme in disguise,” said one activist. Harsh? Maybe. But when you see the fine print, it’s hard to disagree.
Nigeria’s in this mix. So are Angola, Ghana, Uganda—13 African nations total. The MBPP warns they’re being lured into a trap. “You think you’re getting cash,” they say. “You’re getting chains.” Financial dependence. Lost sovereignty. The same old song.
Akinbode Oluwafemi from CAPPA put it bluntly: “Accountability isn’t a stock ticker.” He’s right. The World Bank’s involvement? A red flag. The coalition says the Bank’s track record is full of delays and broken promises. “They’ll bury us in paperwork,” said Mokoena Ndivile from Gender CC Southern Africa. “But our forests aren’t paperwork.”
Let’s talk numbers. The world spends $2.7 trillion yearly on wars. $2.7 trillion. The TFFF offers $125 billion. Do the math. One percent of that military cash? $27 billion. Six times more than this “forest plan.” The coalition’s point? “Stop gambling. Start caring.”
But wait. There’s more. The TFFF’s governance? No seats for local communities. No real say for Africa. Just suits in glass towers. Kwami Kpondzo from the Global Forest Coalition called it out: “They’ll erase our knowledge. Replace it with profit margins.” Ouch.
So what’s the real deal here? It’s not about trees. It’s about power. Who controls the narrative? Who gets the cash? The MBPP says the answer’s simple: the people who live there. Not some bank in Switzerland.
And that URL? reportersroom.com.ng/cop30-forest. Short. Clean. No nonsense.
Back to the story. Imagine a farmer in Cameroon. She’s tended her land for decades. Now, some fund in New York decides her forest’s worth? No. That’s not justice. That’s theft.
The coalition’s plea is clear: reject this facility. Ditch the profit-first model. Support real solutions. Like, yesterday.
But will COP30 listen? Unclear. The summit’s full of grand speeches. But actions? We’ll see.
In the end, it’s about more than forests. It’s about dignity. Autonomy. The right to not be sold out. The MBPP’s voice is rough, raw, unpolished. And that’s exactly why it matters.
So here’s the takeaway: climate action isn’t a business model. It’s a heartbeat. And Africa’s just saying: “Ours shouldn’t be auctioned.”
