France and Brazil launched a green investment program for the Amazon on Tuesday, on the first day of a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the Latin American giant intended to strengthen the partnership between the two countries and demonstrate its closeness to Lula.
Coming from the French department of Guyana, Mr. Macron was welcomed by his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Belém, a city in northern Brazil which will host COP30 in 2025.
The two men like to showcase their complicity, they did not fail to do so: both in shirt sleeves, they multiplied smiles and warm gestures, regularly holding hands.
From the environment to defense and the economy, they intend to show an all-round rapprochement between France and Brazil, a key player in the “Brics”, the bloc of emerging countries.
In the lush setting of the Amazon forest, Emmanuel Macron and Lula announced a program aimed at raising
“one billion euros of public and private investment over the next four years”
in the Brazilian and Guyanese Amazon.
This announcement, which targets “bio-economy”
projects
combining economic development and environmental protection, is part of an international roadmap that the two heads of state intend to promote in the run-up to COP30.
This involves placing
“indigenous peoples and local communities at the heart of decision-making”
, according to the roadmap published by the French presidency.
Near Belém, one of the large urban centers of the Amazon basin, the two presidents visited a cocoa production micro-enterprise on the island of Combu.
The world's largest rainforest plays a vital role against global warming by absorbing carbon emissions.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was halved in 2023, a success for Lula who promised to stop the phenomenon by 2030. A highly symbolic moment of this first day was Mr. Macron's presentation of the Legion of honor to the indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, whom he hugged.
This leader of the Kayapa people has become in recent decades the global icon of the defense of the Amazon.
“You have even stronger energy every time I see you again (...), even more in shape, ready to lead the fight.
Very modestly I wanted to say that we will continue to lead it alongside you
,” Mr. Macron said to the old indigenous leader.
Emmanuel Macron and Raoni Metuktire.
Ueslei Marcelino / REUTERS