Spiegel, Handelsblatt & Co: [tra:ce] Expert Max Matthey advises against risky rainforest fund

The 30th UN Climate Change Conference in Belém is history, and with it the highly anticipated "Tropical Forests Forever Facility" (TFFF) was officially launched at the beginning of November. However, the hoped-for $125 billion for the funds to protect the rainforest failed to materialise: Only around $6.7 billion was pledged.

Max Alexander Matthey, [tra:ce] member and doctoral student at UWH, had already caused a stir in the run-up to the launch with his well-founded criticism of the TFFF model. He warned of the structural risks in leading German media such as Der Spiegel and Handelsblatt: The promised returns could be jeopardised by volatile markets, which could ultimately lead to considerable financial burdens for taxpayers:innen.

"The fund's prospects for success are extremely susceptible to economic cycles. A major market crash could decimate the value of the fund," Der Spiegel quotes him as saying. Matthey criticises the fact that the TFFF model shifts risks onto public budgets instead of developing stable, results-based financing solutions. He also shared his expertise in the R21 climate podcast and in Table.Briefings, where he described the fund as a "high-risk bet with taxpayers' money".

The results of the COP30 now available seem to confirm his concerns: The disappointingly low funding pledge casts doubt on the viability of the model.