Joint Statement by the Governments of Brazil and Germany on their Support for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) - Hannover, 20 April 2026

In the context of the bilateral meeting between the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, held in Hannover on 20 April 2026, both Governments reaffirmed their shared commitment to the conservation and sustainable use tropical forests as a central element in addressing global environmental challenges.

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) is an innovative financing mechanism designed to provide tropical forest countries with longterm, performancebased payments for verified forest conservation and restoration. It is grounded in transparent criteria, robust data and strong safeguards, and the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, linking nature and climate protection with sustainable development and the fight against poverty.

Germany expressed appreciation for Brazil's leadership in advancing the TFFF, culminating in its launch at the Belém Climate Summit on 6 November 2025. The Launch Declaration was endorsed by 67 countries, including those hosting over 90% of tropical forest coverage in developing countries, with pledges to junior capital exceeding USD 6,7 billion.

Germany's contribution

Germany supports the TFFF, both politically and financially, as a key building block of the global climate, biodiversity and forest architecture. Building on its longstanding engagement in forest and climate finance, Germany has already provided EUR 20 million to a World Bank Fund to help launch the TFFF.

From 2027 onwards, the German government intends to provide EUR 1 billion in total for the Tropical Forest Investment Fund (TFIF), via KfW as a trustee. The German government will include the German contribution in the 2027 budget preparation of the Climate and Transformation Fund. Until this process has been concluded, the German contribution is subject to budgetary and parliamentary approval.

Brazil's contribution

Brazil was the first country to pledge to the TFFF, with President Lula announcing in September 2025 an investment of USD 1 billion, which will come from Brazil's own Climate Fund budget and be implemented with the support of public development banks. Brazil considers the TFFF's financial model robust and views it as an innovative, scalable mechanism to leverage private sector participation in environmental finance, while recognizing the need for sovereign contributions to de-risk investments.

By creating tangible economic value for standing tropical forests, the TFFF will generate incentives for their conservation, while providing an additional and predictable funding stream to support developing countries in implementing related policies and programs.

Outlook and next steps

Germany and Brazil will continue to work together with other sponsor and tropical forest countries to make the Facility and its financial arm, the TFIF, operational as swiftly as possible, including by advancing the consolidation and institutionalization of its legal and financial structures.

Both governments continue engaging the leadership of potential sponsor countries to advance the capitalization of the TFFF.

Both Governments are committed to embedding the TFFF into the broader international environmental finance architecture and creating synergies with existing funds and initiatives. Both sides underline that the TFIF has a strong and robust financial model, enabling the TFFF to become over time a major driver for the achievement of global environmental goals.