Biden Moves to Fund Amazon Restoration Alongside Brazil
A deforested area of the Amazon Rainforest near Novo Progresso, Brazil, on Sept. 15, 2009. Source: AP Photo / Andre Penner.
President Joe Biden pledged on Thursday to devote $500 million towards the Amazon Fund, a conservation program in Brazil aiming to curb deforestation of the world’s largest rainforest.
The announcement was made during a virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, a conference of 26 of the world’s largest economies. Both the United States and Brazil are part of the Forum.
In his announcement, Biden also proposed over $1 billion for the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations (UN) program that assisted developing countries in their fight against climate change.
Importantly, the funds must be approved by Congress — likely an uphill battle in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Republicans are fiercely opposed to international climate investments.
The Amazon Fund was established by Brazil in 2008, before being suspended by Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro in 2019. Deforestation rates in the Amazon soared as a result, increasing by more than 50 percent during the first seven months of Bolsonaro’s presidency than in the first seven months of 2018. When former President Lula Da Silva defeated Bolsonaro last year in Brazil’s presidential election, the fund was reopened.
The Amazon plays a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate by absorbing billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide. Support for the Amazon is therefore widely seen as a climate investment and less of a charitable contribution.
In his address, Biden also mentioned a potential role of existing international development institutions to include climate projects in the investment agendas.
“Together, we need to strengthen the role of multilateral development banks in fighting the climate crisis as well, starting with the World Bank. Because climate security, energy security, food security, they’re all related. They’re all related,” he said.
Some experts believe that Biden’s pledge symbolizes trust in the new Brazilian administration—given that Lula is committed to controlling deforestation.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks with Brazilian President Lula Da Silva at the White House on Feb. 10. Source: AP Photo / Alex Brandon.
Lula, who visited Washington D.C. in February, has worked with Biden on several key climate issues. This cooperation between the two governments has occurred despite their differing views on the Ukraine War.
While Biden and most policymakers have staunchly supported Ukraine, providing the country with direct military and tactical assistance, Lula has taken a different approach.
Lula has called for a “negotiated” settlement to end the war and proposed Brazil as a potential neutral mediator in the conflict, despite US pressure to supply Ukraine with lethal aid.
Brazil’s participation in the BRICS alliance — a group of countries acting as a counterbalance to the G7 and the United States — has been another source of contention. Russia, India, China, and South Africa are the other BRICS members.
Lula angered some US officials earlier this month when he expressed support for a BRICS currency that would replace the dollar in international trade—a move that would undoubtedly weaken the dollar and hurt the American economy.
However, Biden’s relationship with Lula is much stronger than it was with Bolsonaro, who favored Donald Trump and saw the former U.S. president as an “idol.”
While not seeing eye-to-eye on the Russo-Ukrainian War and the BRICS currency, Biden and Lula appear to still be putting their differences aside to work on an area of mutual interest for both administrations — climate change.