China has decided not to provide funding at this stage to Brazil’s new rainforest protection mechanism, citing the principle that wealthier nations should take the lead in climate finance, according to a report by Folha de S. Paulo.

The move, which contradicts earlier reports, has tempered expectations in Brasília that Beijing would become an early financial contributor to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF).

Chinese negotiators told Brazilian officials that Beijing supports the initiative in principle, but referred to the concept of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, which underpins the UN climate framework.

The principle states that developed economies bear a larger share of the financial and emissions burden because their industrial growth was built on fossil fuels.

Speaking at COP30 in Belém, Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang said: “Developed countries must take the lead in cutting emissions, honour their financial commitments and provide stronger technical and capacity-building support to developing countries.”

The TFFF, launched during the summit, is designed as a permanent fund to reward nations that preserve tropical forests. Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, Portugal and France have already pledged around $5.5bn of a $125bn target, SCMP reported. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also vowed to chip in, though details of Berlin's contribution are yet to be defined. However, the UK has refused to provide funding at this time, opting to support the initiative with “efforts to unlock private investment,” a UK government spokesperson told Politico.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said China’s interest remained, but cautioned against rushing the process. “Each country has its own pace,” he said. “Even for us, it took two years before we could make Brazil’s first pledge.”

Beijing's decision followed the release of a government white paper outlining plans to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

The document reaffirmed the country’s stance on “equity and common, but differentiated responsibilities”.

China is currently the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the main greenhouse gas driving climate change.

But it is among the slew of nations to have submitted its 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - the emission-reduction targets pledged by each country under the Paris Agreement - to the UNFCCC Secretariat on time this year, targeting all greenhouse gases across the entire economy.

Additionally, China is by far the globe's biggest investor in clean energy, with investment reaching around $625bn in 2024 alone, according to the global energy think tank Ember, as reported by DW.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a close Beijing ally, is expected to raise the funding issue directly with President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa.

The TFFF's architecture seeks to revolutionise traditional climate finance. Rather than seeking donations, Brazil is requesting investments designed to be repaid over time. The blueprint calls for $25bn in initial capital from governments, which would then be leveraged at a four-to-one ratio to attract $100bn from institutional investors such as pension and sovereign wealth funds.