Dear John,

The world’s forests are in crisis. These vast ecosystems are teeming with animal and plant life and home to millions of people. They also regulate global rainfall patterns and they’re a huge store of carbon. We all need them, but big business is chopping and burning them down for quick profit.

Climate breakdown makes things even worse, with fragile ecosystems crumbling and wildfires burning across whole regions.

Next month the world’s governments will meet for the UN climate talks in the Amazon rainforest. This is our chance to act.

We’re writing to Ed Milliband, secretary of state for climate change, demanding that he honours the UK’s pledge to protect the world’s forests at the UN climate talks. Will you sign the open letter?

Our world’s forests are under threat. Their destruction worsens climate change, biodiversity loss and threatens vulnerable communities. And the very communities best placed to defend the forests are being ignored… and robbed of homes and livelihoods.

The UK government must take a leading role in protecting the world’s forests. It must hold UK companies to account for environmental destruction and human rights abuses in their supply chains.

And it must champion the role of the Indigenous peoples and local communities who tirelessly defend their forest homes.

Please sign the open letter demanding the UK takes a leading role in defending the precious forests that remain.

Thank you for your solidarity with forest defenders worldwide,

Nick Rau,

Campaigner, Friends of the Earth