The American special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, affirmed Tuesday February 28 in Brasilia that the fight against the destruction of the Amazon must be carried out "at the
global level
", reiterating that Washington was going to contribute financially, without however announcing any Rising.
"
We will work together, not only on a bilateral basis, but on a global level, to bring everyone to the negotiating table
", explained John Kerry during a press conference alongside the Brazilian minister of the Environment, Marina Silva.
"
No country can change things alone (...) There is a big change going on, more and more people understand that it is urgent, it is not optional, and we have to work together, although more than we did before
,” he insisted, also announcing that he intended to return to Brazil to go to the Amazon, without giving a precise date.
Read also“Combating deforestation is the least expensive way to fight climate change”
Billions of dollars at stake
This visit by US President Joe Biden's envoy to Brasilia takes place three weeks after that of left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the White House.
And as was the case in Washington, the United States reaffirmed its desire to contribute to the Amazon Fund, whose main donors are Norway and Germany, but has still not provided any figures.
"
We are committed to contributing to the Amazon Fund, but also to other entities, and to working bilaterally (with Brazil) on science and development
", explained John Kerry, at the end of his visit to two days in Brasilia.
When asked by a reporter how much the contribution would be, he replied that it would depend on negotiations with Congress.
“
We have a bill in the Senate with a goal of raising $4.5 billion.
Another in the House at $9 billion.
But now we will have to fight
” for this to materialize in Congress, he said.
He alluded in particular to the “ AMAZON21
” bill
, providing for the creation of a fund of 9 billion dollars for the preservation of forests in developing countries.
Minister Marina Silva recalled for her part that there were "
other instruments
" to help preserve the Amazon, such as the purchase of carbon credits.
Read alsoMore than 200 km2 of Amazonian forest destroyed in one month, new deforestation record
At the end of January, during an official visit to Brasilia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz announced that his country was ready to pay 200 million euros to the Amazon Fund.
Deforestation has increased sharply under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), defeated by Lula in the October election.
The leftist president promised after his victory that he would do everything to reduce illegal deforestation in the Amazon to zero by 2030, but insisted on the importance of international aid to achieve this goal.