Investors managing $3 trillion in assets urge countries to stop deforestation

Global investors managing more than $3 trillion in assets have urged governments to halt and reverse deforestation and ecosystem destruction by 2030, according to a joint statement released on Monday ahead of next month’s U.N. climate conference in Brazil.

Around 30 major institutional investors, including Swiss private bank Pictet Group and Nordic firm DNB Asset Management have so far endorsed the Belém Investor Statement on Rainforests, which will remain open for additional signatories until 1 November.

A recent report found that the world remains far from achieving its goal of stopping deforestation, with 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area roughly the size of England lost in 2024 alone, largely due to agricultural expansion and wildfires.

“As investors, we are increasingly concerned about the significant financial risks that tropical deforestation and nature loss pose to our portfolios,” the statement said.

The signatories called for stronger legal, regulatory, and financial frameworks to protect forests and ensure economic stability. Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Nordic investment firm Storebrand Asset Management, said that “deforestation undermines the natural systems that global markets depend on, from climate regulation to food and water security.”

Earlier this year, the European Union postponed implementation of its anti-deforestation law by one year following opposition from industry groups and trade partners such as Brazil, Indonesia, and the United States, who argued that the rules would be costly and harm exports to Europe.

Ingrid Tungen, head of deforestation-free markets at the Rainforest Foundation Norway, said that the stance of U.S. President Donald Trump, a known climate sceptic had weakened global environmental efforts.

“I think Trump has made it more difficult for investors and fund managers to take climate and biodiversity into account in such a volatile market,” she said. “Every investor we speak to believes that failing to address deforestation and climate change poses enormous long-term risks, not only from an ethical perspective but because it directly threatens market stability and profitability.”

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