At COP30, DRC Secures Global Spotlight with $2.5B Forest Initiative

Belém, Brazil, November 6, 2025. At the heart of this year’s COP30 summit, held deep in the Brazilian Amazon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is making headlines, not as a victim of climate change, but as a central player in the fight against it.

The summit, gathering representatives from 143 countries, including nearly 100 heads of state, has placed rainforest nations like the DRC, Brazil, and Indonesia at the center of global climate policy. Among them, President Félix Tshisekedi arrived in Belém on November 6 with a clear message: Congo is a “solution country.”

“No global climate solution is possible without the Congo Basin,” Tshisekedi’s delegation affirmed. “We are custodians of the planet’s second lung.”

$2.5 Billion Forest Protection Initiative Launched

In an exclusive reveal by Reuters, France is leading a $2.5 billion funding initiative to safeguard the Congo rainforest, the world’s second-largest tropical forest, from deforestation and degradation.

Backed by Britain, Germany, Belgium, and Norway, the initiative is part of a wider effort to mobilize international climate finance to protect carbon sinks vital to humanity’s survival.

While Brazil’s Amazon is the visual symbol of the COP30 summit, the Congo Basin is increasingly recognized as equally critical. This funding could bolster DRC’s capacity for forest monitoring, community-based conservation, and sustainable development in vulnerable regions.

“Mobilizing more money to protect Congo’s forests is no longer optional,” said one climate policy expert. “It is a global responsibility.”

Tshisekedi’s Vision: From Victim to Global Environmental Leader

In his remarks to the Summit of Heads of State, President Tshisekedi positioned the DRC not as a dependent actor, but as a co-leader in global climate governance.

The DRC is home to:

• Over 60% of the Congo Basin rainforest

• One of the world’s largest carbon reserves is in its peatlands

• Untapped potential for renewable energy and green minerals

Tshisekedi’s leadership has placed Congo’s forests at the center of climate diplomacy, and his government is leveraging this visibility to attract green investments and international respect.

“We are no longer invisible. The DRC is at the table, not on the menu,” one Kinshasa official told XtraAfrica.

Climate Diplomacy as a Tool for Sovereignty

Beyond the environment, this moment reflects a broader strategy: under Tshisekedi, the DRC is using climate diplomacy to reposition itself as a respected actor in global affairs, not just a source of raw materials or conflict headlines.

The $2.5 billion French-led fund also sends a signal that international partners now see the value of investing in Congolese-led solutions, rather than imposing top-down models.