BELÉM, Brazil — Brazil hasn’t given up hope of bagging funding from London for a centerpiece COP30 promise. 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer disappointed his Brazilian hosts this month when he turned up to COP without a pledge to invest in the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF). 

This was despite the idea for the initiative originating in Britain before being picked up by the COP hosts. 

The TFFF is designed to pay out returns on investments made by donor countries and the private sector, aiming to reward countries for each hectare of tropical rainforest they conserve. Brazilian officials say is it “possible” the fund could raise $10 billion (£7.6 billion) in its first year, a key threshold as the largest contributor to date, Norway, has made its $3 billion pledge contingent on this. 

But the U.K. has said it will not be pitching in cash, a week ahead of a budget in which Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a “smorgasbord” of domestic tax rises to close a black hole in the public finances. 

Garo Batmanian, the head of the Brazilian Rainforest Service and the coordinator of TFFF, told POLITICO Brasília can be patient. 

“Any investment fund that … gets $5.5 billion in the first day that you open for business — it’s a very important number,” Batmanian enthused. Brazil did “expect other countries to come in,” he said, but added: “It’s not going to be a disaster if we wait a few weeks.” 

The TFFF is investment, not donor funds, Batmanian continued, highlighting investment by countries including Norway and France. “I don’t know the U.K. budget, but I just want to remind you that it’s not a donation, so loans are budgeted differently. … We’re not asking for the money from ODA [aid spending]. So, I understand you don’t have more money for ODA, but it’s from somewhere else — but that somewhere else maybe they haven’t thought about it yet.” 

“So, maybe they [the U.K.] come back,” he said. 

“They have time,” added another Brazilian government official. “They don’t need to announce, they can discuss it further. But it would great to have [the] U.K. on the board.” 

British reps aren’t closing the door entirely either — but say the time to strike is after that tough U.K. budget on Nov. 26. 

Starmer’s controversial decision not to contribute ahead of the summit didn’t mean “no, never,” U.K. Climate Envoy Rachel Kyte told The Times Friday. “Once the budget’s gone and the government reconvenes after that, then we’ll take a fresh look.” 

Uma Kumaran, a Labour MP and member of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, speaking to POLITICO from the COP30 venue, said: “It’s a lie to say that the Brazilians aren’t disappointed about the TFF funding. However, we’ve not closed the door on it.”  

Against “a difficult domestic landscape” this is “not a final decision,” she insisted, adding: “I think we need to get through the budget and then we’ll see what happens.” 

In the meantime, the U.K.’s refusal to pledge cash has not gone unnoticed. “What happened with the U.K. was very disappointing. We were counting on them,” said one official from a country that did offer funding. 

The Treasury has been approached for comment.