The Prince of Wales is to give a speech on protecting forests as efforts to cut emissions from deforestation are discussed at the UN climate talks in Paris. Experts warn agriculture, forestry and land use are responsible for almost a quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and action to tackle the problem is a key part of curbing climate change. At the same time 1 billion people rely directly on forests for their livelihoods, while the rest of the world's population need the clean air, rain systems and products they provide. But each year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed, the UN warns, suggesting that if protected, forests could provide up to one third of the climate solution needed over the next two decades. New action to protect tropical rainforests is set to be announced as part of the climate talks, which are being held in Paris in a bid to secure a new global deal to curb rising temperatures. It is hoped action will build on the New York Declaration on Forests, launched at the UN organised climate summit in New York last year, which saw pledges to halve natural forest loss by 2020, end it by 2030 and restore forests and croplands of an area larger than India. Charles will be joined at an event on forests at the talks by politicians and business leaders including Ollanta Humala, president of Peru, Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland and Marco Lambertini, president of WWF International. It comes the day after more than 150 leaders gave speeches at the UN summit, which will see negotiators attempt over the next two weeks to hammer out a new deal to cut emissions, protect vulnerable countries from the impacts of rising temperatures and avoid "dangerous" climate change. Barack Obama said that in the wake of the barbaric Paris terrorist attacks the summit represented an "act of defiance". He said that a future of negative climate impacts such as floods and forced migration "is one that we have the power to change – right here, right now." "One of the enemies we will be fighting at this conference is cynicism – the notion that we can't do anything about climate change," he added. However, although world leaders were anxious to stress their solidarity with Paris and their support for the UN negotiations, tensions were also clearly visible. Vladimir Putin of Russia and Obama barely made eye contact on meeting, and in a private meeting with Obama, the Indian president Narendra Modi is understood to have made it clear he thinks developed countries should take on substantial carbon cuts while allowing poor nations to increase their emissions. While pledging India to protect the planet, and announcing new initiatives on solar power, Modi was adamant: "Climate change is not of our making. It is the result of global warming that came from an industrial age powered by fossil fuel." Speaking shortly after Obama, China's president Xi Jinping said the eyes of the world were on Paris and that, "tackling climate change is a shared mission for all mankind." He reiterated the country's pledge to peak its emissions by 2030 and said: "we have confidence and resolve to fulfil our commitments".
