The U.S. special envoy for climate, John Kerry, will be received this Monday by Brazilian authorities, in what will be the first step to start fine-tuning policies to combat the climate crisis between both countries.
Brazilian official sources explained that Kerry’s visit will give “immediate follow-up” to what was discussed in Washington by Presidents Joe Biden and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who visited the White House on the 10th with an agenda of high environmental content.
Kerry’s first meeting will be this Monday at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, where he will be received by the Brazilian Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin, and the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, who accompanied Lula on his visit to Washington.
One of Brazil’s objectives, already negotiated with Biden but which will depend on the approval of the U.S. Parliament, is for the United States to join the Amazon Fund, constituted with donations from Norway and Germany and aimed at financing actions against deforestation in the planet’s largest plant lung.
In addition, according to the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, joint positions will be discussed regarding the participation of both countries in international forums and possible cooperation in “the transition to clean energy” and “the construction of a strong bioeconomy”.
Although it has not yet been confirmed, official sources told EFE that it is “very likely” that Biden will also be received by Lula, for a conversation of a more “political” and “strategic” nature.
The Amazon Fund was instituted in 2009, during Lula’s second term, and operated until 2019, when the government of the ultra-right-wing Jair Bolsonaro decided to deactivate it, without explaining the reasons, but in the midst of the implementation of policies that boosted mining and other economic activities in the region.
Lula, who took office on January 1, repealed these policies on his first day in office and decided to reactivate the Amazon Fund, to which he now wants to attract the United States and France, among other economic powers.
Currently, the Amazon Fund has some US$ 1 billion contributed by Norway and Germany, and the expectation is that the United States will join with an initial donation of US$ 50 million.
Kerry will be in Brazil for two days and his agenda also includes meetings with other government authorities, with representatives of Parliament and with civil society organizations working in the Amazon and other ecosystems in the country.
From Brazil, the U.S. official will head to Panama, where he will participate in the “Our Oceans” conference, which will bring together delegations from governments, private enterprise and civil society for three days.