Delta Air Lines and PwC join the LEAF Coalition
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September 21, 2021
Today, Delta Air Lines and PwC announced their participation in the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition. The addition of two new organizations brings the total number of private sector participants to 12 and increases the sectoral and geographic diversity of the initiative.
“Delta Air Lines and PwC joining the coalition is a clear signal of the strong interest from leading global private sector organizations in contributing to the fight against tropical deforestation by purchasing high-integrity emissions reductions,” stated Eron Bloomgarden, Executive Director and founder of Emergent.
Participants in the Coalition must be committed to deep voluntary cuts in their own greenhouse gas emissions in line with science-based targets and consistent with the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Their contributions to the LEAF Coalition come in addition to, and not as a substitute for, internal emissions reductions.
Bob Moritz, Global Chairman of PwC, said, “We are excited to be joining this public-private initiative to provide incentives and results-based financing for forest protection at a scale not seen before. As part of our strategy to build trust with stakeholders and deliver sustained outcomes, we’re committed to playing our part to help address the climate crisis. Protecting tropical rainforests is essential to ensuring PwC can meet our global climate targets and address interlinked environmental and societal challenges such as biodiversity and nature loss.”
Forest protection programs that operate across entire states matter not only for achieving results at scale, but also because acting at the jurisdictional level unlocks a suite of crucial policy tools, such as improved land-use regulation. Results must be verified against the independent and rigorous ART/TREES standard. Before funding is provided, independent third-party validators will ensure total deforestation across a jurisdiction has been reduced, that efforts to reduce deforestation have not negatively impacted local communities, and that plans are in place to equitably share benefits with local communities.
“As a global airline committed to carbon neutrality, we rely on high-quality carbon offset projects,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO. “Protecting the world’s forests is pivotal if we are to truly impact climate change. It is why we are proud to join LEAF in its efforts to protect the vital tropical forests and the billions of people who depend on them, all while supporting sustainable societies”.
“We cannot solve climate change unless we stop deforestation, and we cannot stop deforestation without accelerated investment from the private sector. Large-scale tropical forest protection programs like those supported by the LEAF Coalition are critical and it’s encouraging to see more business leaders take meaningful
climate action by joining LEAF. The urgency of the climate crisis demands that other companies follow suit, fast.” said Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund.
As coordinator of LEAF, Emergent actively encourages leading climate private sector organizations to join the Coalition ahead of COP26 to accelerate climate action. For further information, please visit www.leafcoalition.org.
