Norway: German pledge to boost UN forest program

Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says Germany will pledge $500 million to an international program aimed at fighting deforestation at a conference in Oslo.

Stoltenberg said Wednesday the German contribution will increase funding to $4 billion. The program - called REDD Plus - was approved at UN climate talks in December.

It's an incentive program providing funds to nations working to reduce emissions through good forest governance and protecting biological diversity and the rights of indigenous people.

In December, France, Norway and four other countries committed $3.5 billion to the program.

Deforestation is thought to account for up to 20 percent of C02 released into the atmosphere. A conference on deforestation starts Thursday in Oslo.