UN climate talks reach deal

Protesters wearing masks of U.S. President Barack Obama, France's President Francois Hollande, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L-R) hold a map and a sign in front of the national stadium during the last day of the 19th conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP19) in Warsaw November 22, 2013. The event staged by Oxfam called on more decisive action from world leaders in 2014 after few concrete steps have emerged from two weeks of climate talks in Warsaw, according to media reports.[Photo/Agencies]

WARSAW - Governments at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw on Friday agreed a set of decisions on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and the degradation of forests.

The agreement on the so-called REDD+ initiative is backed by pledges of 280 million dollars in financing from the U.S., Norway and Britain, according to a statement released by the Conference.

"I am proud of this concrete accomplishment. We are all aware of the central role that forests play as carbon sinks, climate stabilizers and biodiversity havens," President of the conference Marcin Korolec said.

Korolec hailed the deal as "a significant contribution to forest preservation and sustainable use which will benefit the people who live in and around them and humanity and the planet as a whole."

The decisions adopted provide guidance for ensuring environmental integrity and pave the way towards the full implementation of REDD+ activities on the ground, said the statement.

The package also provides a foundation for transparency and integrity of REDD+ action, clarifies ways to finance relevant activities and how to improve coordination of support, it added.

The agreement was announced as the two-week climate talks, which aimed to prepare for a global climate pact due to be agreed in 2015, are entering the final hours.