Avoided Deforestation Partners

[4] Beyond protecting the Earth's air quality, tropical forests facilitate conditions for rain,[5] replenish water sources, provide habitats for myriad plant and animal species, and sustain the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people globally.

A large part of their efforts go toward convening global leaders from government, civil society and the business world at the international United National Climate summits, also known as the UNFCCC COP meetings.

"[13] Years is "constructed like a newsmagazine" and "each episode weaves together several reports, some done by journalists like Lesley Stahl or Chris Hayes, but most by a roster of celebrities that includes Mr. Ford, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Olivia Munn, Jessica Alba and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[18] In addition to advising the executive producers on an episode that highlights problems of and solutions to deforestation, for the Indonesia segment, AD Partners secured interviews with key governmental officials and civil society personnel.

For this piece, AD Partners obtained permission to film at both NASA Ames Research Center and Google Earth, and to interview key scientists engaged in democratizing access to forest monitoring satellite data.

Titled "The Battle in the Forest," the episode features celebrity correspondent Gisele Bündchen as she travels to her home country to "see the extent of the damage and investigates what's being done to save the [Brazilian] rainforest for all of us.

In addition to serving as executive producer, Horowitz's efforts on the project led to the inclusion in the film of a number of rainforest advocates, including renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE; the United National head of international climate negotiations (UNFCCC Secretary) Christiana Figueres; Unilever CEO Paul Polman; head of Indonesia's president's Delivery Unit for Development, Monitoring and Oversight Kuntoro Mangkusubroto; primatologist and Conservation International President Russell Mittermeier; California Governor Jerry Brown; and other important voices.

Horowitz directed and produced "Stop the Burning," a short film based on interviews he conducted with 30 global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2015.

Council For Sustainable Development Christiana Figueres, executive secretary, UNFCCC Naoko Ishii, CEO and chair, Global Environment Facility Jeremy Oppenheim, director, McKinsey and Company Mark Tercek, president and CEO, The Nature Conservancy Rachel Kyte, VP, special envoy, Climate Change Group, World Bank Lord Nicholas Stern, chair, Grantham Institute, London School Of Economics Erik Solheim, former minister of environment, Norway Shinta Kamdani, vice chair, Indonesia Chamber of Commerce Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer, Ikea Richard Branson, chair, Virgin United The organization's founder, Jeff Horowitz, began the organization by bringing together leaders from government, the private sector and civil society to advance practical, scalable solutions to protect tropical forests.

Many viewed this strategy as the only way significant forest protection provisions would be inserted into the Waxman-Markey climate bill, now known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

AD Partners brings together public, private and civil society leaders to inspire decision makers to implement strategies that promote sustainable agriculture that is free of deforestation.

In addition, the organization has developed partnerships between industry and government that promote resource conservation and the significant reduction of deforestation via sustainable agricultural practices.

The effort is intended to counter the lucrative practice of clearing rainforests in such countries as Brazil and Indonesia so that the land can be used for cattle grazing, planting soy, oil palm and other high-demand crops.

[50][51] By mid-2012, AD Partners had brokered a partnership between the Consumer Goods Forum and the U.S. Government that would offer support to their deforestation-free sustainable supply chain initiatives.

The TFA2020's goal is to mobilize key private sector, governmental and civil society entities to help achieve zero net deforestation in tropical forest countries by 2020.

AD Partners events are used to advance forest protection strategies and as forums for special announcements that highlight key government and industry initiatives.

[56] Other speakers at the COP15 event included president of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, UNDP head Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand), Governor Eduardo Braga (Amazonas State, Brazil), Sir Richard Branson, Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg, and Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, as well as the heads of IUCN, WWF-US, NRDC, EDF, TNC, CI, and high level executives from American Electric Power and Duke Energy.

[59] Other event highlights included comments by Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who announced progress in his country's large-scale funding of forest-protection projects in Brazil and Indonesia.

[70][71] Signatories include: American Electric Power, Marriott International, Mercy Corps, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, NorthWestern Energy, Ohio Corn Growers Association, PG&E Corporation, Republicans for Environmental Protection, Starbucks Coffee Company, The Walt Disney Company, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Virgin Group.

AD Partners is an informal network of individuals who donate their time and resources to advancing U.S. and international climate and energy policies along with business solutions that include robust incentives to protect tropical forests.