France leads $2.5 billion push to protect Congo’s forest as climate summit urges action

World leaders meeting in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest renewed calls for urgent climate action, as France announced a new $2.5 billion initiative to protect the Congo Basin forest, the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest. The pledge comes as Brazil revealed it has already secured $5.5 billion for its new fund aimed at paying developing nations to preserve forests.

The gathering, part of the U.N.’s annual climate summit, seeks…