Washington is considering its first contribution to a multilateral fund aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement this weekend following US President Joe Biden’s meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House yesterday, two US officials with knowledge of the matter said.
A US contribution to the Amazon Fund, administered by Brazil, would underline warmer ties between the two largest democracies in the western hemisphere, after the frostier relations between Biden and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
The Amazon Fund was established in 2009 with an initial donation from Norway to help fight deforestation and spur sustainable development in Brazil. Bolsonaro froze the fund when he took office in 2019, but Lula has rebooted it with support from Norway and Germany. The UK is also looking at joining the fund, which has received US$1.3 billion so far.
Photo: AFP
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said Biden and Lula would discuss what actions could be taken to combat the climate crisis.
It was not clear how much the US was looking to invest in the fund, the officials said.
Washington hopes that by joining the fund, it might “solidify” the fight to protect the rainforest and “turn back the clock on all this deforestation and wildfires,” one of the sources said.
Germany last week announced a new 35 million euros (US$37.57 million) donation to the Amazon Fund, as part of a larger 200 million euros environmental pledge to Brazil.
The US interest in the Amazon Fund reflects a greater desire to help Brazil protect the world’s largest rainforest, a crucial bulwark against climate change in a country where destruction surged during Bolsonaro’s four years in office.
Reuters in November last year reported that Washington was looking to crack down on environmental criminals behind deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, using penalties such as large-scale sanctions to tackle climate change more aggressively.
The official said the talks between the two presidents would include a commitment to “strengthening cooperation against environmental crime.”
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