Government pledges £100 million to forests

Some 800 logs that were illegally cut from Amazon rainforest lie abandoned on a ranch after police announced they would arrive soon to confiscate them, as federal policemen and environmental inspectors continued with the Arch of Fire operation to stop illegal logging, near Tailandia, 180 km (112 miles) south of Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, February 28, 2008.

POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) - Energy and climate change minister Ed Miliband will say on Friday that the government will give 100 million pounds to help reduce the impacts of deforestation.

The funding will ensure that rainforest countries can develop and improve their infrastructure without negative effects on the environment.

Seventeen percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by forestry and land use change, according to Miliband.

Miliband's comments, made available in advance, will be to the U.N. climate talks in Poznan, Poland, where about 100 environment ministers are working on details of a new treaty to fight global warming, replacing Kyoto, meant to be agreed by the end of next year.

Ministers gathered in Poznan said they would join forces to tackle deforestation and encourage conservation.

Some tropical foresting countries have been seeking public funding to protect their forests under a new climate treaty. But EU member states debated on Thursday whether to allow "forest offsetting" -- letting countries and companies compensate for excess emissions by funding tropical forest conservation.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by William Hardy)