Forest aid pledges may reach €4.7bn

Copenhagen: Norway, the US, Britain and other donors may raise pledges to help save forests in poorer nations to $6bn, (€4.7bn) said Jens Riese, head of sustainable economic development at the consultant McKinsey & Co.

The money includes $3.5bn (€2.97bn) that was already promised at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December.

Those funds are due to be paid by the end of 2012. The countries, which include Japan, France, Australia and Germany, plan to boost funding to between $5bn and $6bn, Riese said in an interview. More countries may join, he added.