Forests are absolutely essential in the fight against global warming and biodiversity loss. But in 2022 alone, some four million hectares of primary tropical forest were lost. We must urgently stop deforestation. Many commitments have already been made: at the COP in Glasgow in 2021 we pledged to end deforestation by 2030, and in Montreal in 2022, to protect 30% of Earth’s land and water. We must now take action to achieve these ambitions very specifically by simultaneously fighting the scourges of deforestation, pollution and illegal gold mining, while defending the populations living in the forest and off the forest. That is why I want to thank Brazil and President Lula for hosting today’s important Summit in Belém against deforestation in the Amazon, bringing together countries from the region and highly committed partners such as France. We were, indeed, a driving force behind the European Union’s historic decision to no longer contribute to imported deforestation. During my recent foreign trips to Libreville at the gateway to the Congo forest basin, and to Papua New Guinea, where primary forest covers most of the territory, I promoted a model: reconciling the preservation of nature with economic development by paying for the services which forest countries and their populations provide to the rest of the world. Initial partnerships are thus emerging between forest countries and their international partners, so that these partners can help finance action to protect and restore primary forests, which we all need to fight climate change. We are promoting this model in Belém this week, and it will be one of our priorities at COP28 at the end of the year. So until then, let us do our utmost to protect these vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity in the interest of forest countries, their populations and the entire world.