Some 50 nations meet in Oslo on Thursday to discuss ways to slow down deforestation - a growing environmental problem that Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg calls "the biggest, fastest, cheapest way to cut carbon emissions."

Among those who have pledged money to the cause ahead of the conference is billionaire investor George Soros, who announced he would give $50 million to the issue after meeting with Prime Minister Stoltenberg on Wednesday.

"If you can stop the eradication of the forest before it happens, it's much easier than to reclaim the degraded land," Soros told news agency Reuters. "That is why I think quick action is so important."

International effort

Norway on Wednesday also announced an additional $500 million (410 million euros) pledged by Germany for the United Nations' REDD Plus program, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

That brings the program's funding to $4 billion, with the United States, Australia, France, Japan, Britain and Norway pledging $3.5 billion by 2012 at last December's UN climate convention in Copenhagen.

Deforestation, which usually occurs when countries clear trees to build farms, roads or towns, accounts for 15 to 20 percent of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions. Particular areas of concern are the Amazon and Indonesia, which announced Wednesday a two-year moratorium on deforestation in exchange for up to $1 billion in aid from Norway.

Uphill battle

Increasing funds to fight climate change has become more difficult as many governments of wealthy countries have been forced to slash national budgets to spare their economies from concerns over mounting debt.

In addition, the need for more funding is ever increasing, according to Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim.

"It's a lot of money, but more is needed in the long term because profits linked to deforestation are enormous in come countries," Solheim told AFP news agency. "You cannot expect poor nations to bear the cost of reducing deforestation without the support of big polluters like Europe, the United States, Japan and others."

acb/AP/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Rob Turner