Strategic Support to the Government of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative

Tropical deforestation threatens worldwide biodiversity and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, fueling climate change. This challenge presents an opportunity for action: forest protection and responsible land use management could contribute one third of the global emissions reductions needed to reach the goals set in the Paris Agreement. Through Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the Norwegian government has pledged up to 3 billion NOK per year (approximately $500 million USD) from 2009–2030 in order to protect tropical forests and the livelihoods of those who depend on them.

Meridian has served as a strategic advisor for close to a decade, helping NICFI chart its long-term direction and facilitating partnerships with other donor and forest governments, the private sector, and other key leaders in the global climate and forest community. We also manage key projects to help NICFI realize its long-term goals. Meridian’s activities include:

• coordinating international teams of experts that conduct time-sensitive, groundbreaking technical and policy analysis to inform the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiation process
• supporting the creation of bilateral and multilateral REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) donor programs in critical forest countries
• forging innovative public-private partnerships—such as the New York Declaration on Forests, which was endorsed by more than 60 governments, 60 major international companies, and 90 civil society and indigenous organizations
• facilitating NICFI’s work on green growth and sustainable development, blended finance, climate-smart landscapes, and forest-friendly supply chains

Meridian works closely and continuously with NICFI, executing projects to protect tropical forests and the communities they support.