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The Ministerial Katowice Declaration on Forests for
Climate

Proposal by the incoming COP Presidency

The Ministers / the Head of Delegations attending the twenty-fourth
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24), held in Katowice, Poland,
from 2 to 14 December 2018,

Reaffirming that the Paris Agreement aims to achieve a balance
between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of
greenhouse gases in the second half of 21st century,
Acknowledging the essential role of sinks in mitigating climate change,
and simultaneously recognizing the need for them to adapt to a changing
climate, while taking into account the view that some emissions will be
difficult to avoid,
(placeholder for relevant information from the IPCC Special Report on
the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C)
Calling upon the Parties to take action to conserve and enhance sinks
and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, including forests, as well as to
strengthen cooperation in this respect,
Underlining that mitigation potential of terrestrial ecosystems should
be further increased, and capacity of our ecosystems to adapt to climate
change should be enhanced simultaneously,
Recognizing that forest ecosystems have a special role to play in the
accumulation of carbon in the soil and trees, and then in the pool of
harvested wood product serving as alternative materials with a smaller
carbon footprint,
Sharing the UN Strategic Plan for Forests’ vision of a world where all
types of forests and trees outside forests are sustainably managed, and
recognizing that multifunctional and sustainable forest management is a
form of nature protection as well as a keystone in achieving a balance
between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks,

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Stressing that forest ecosystems have various functions – economic,
social and environmental, and inter alia offer valuable non-wood products
and are a source of livelihood for local communities,
Building on milestone documents such as the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, the Warsaw Framework for REDD+, the UN
Strategic Plan for Forests, as well as other global and regional initiatives
regarding forest ecosystems,

1.
Pledge to work together to accelerate our collective actions
aimed at ensuring that global forest carbon stocks are maintained and
further enhanced by 2050.
2.
Encourage the scientific community, including the IPCC, to
explore and quantify the contribution of sinks and reservoirs to achieving a
balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks
of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century.
3.
Finally affirm that there is no future without tackling climate
change, but there is no future without forests either.