Delegates from tropical forest countries meeting in Republic of Congo failed to come up with a formal commitment to protect rainforests, reports Nature News.
The Brazzaville meeting instead produced a general statement on the importance of forests which supporters said would help advance discussions at future climate negotiations, including climate talks in December in Durban and next year’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development.
Environmental groups hoped the meeting would produce a formal pact on forest protection targets. WWF has called for zero net deforestation by 2020.
Participants polled by Nature News said lack of organization undermined the effort to produce a formal agreement. Only a few countries sent high-level representatives.
Congo rainforest summit stops short of commitments