President Joe Biden became the first sitting president to visit the Amazon rainforest on the 17th November 2024.
After attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, President Biden boarded Air Force One and traveled to Manaus, Amazonas, before attending the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the 18th and 19th.He flew over the Amazon aboard Marine One helicopter to inspect the low water levels and wetland fire damage in the Amazon River area, and toured wildlife refuges, the Associated Press reported.
The flight was accompanied by Dr. Carlos Noubri, an Amazon ecology expert from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize), and John Podesta, the presidential envoy for climate.
President Biden then met with Indigenous leaders and visited the Amazon Museum to confirm the U.S. government’s commitment to conserving the rainforest, AP reported. In an explanatory statement released on its website that day, the White House explained, “President Biden will fulfill his historic pledge to increase the amount of international funding for climate change response by more than $11 billion annually by this year, making the U.S. the world’s largest bilateral climate finance donor.”
The U.S. government also announced that it would contribute an additional $50 million to the Amazon Fund, adding to the existing $50 million. The budget will be finalized after congressional approval, AP reported. The White House added that President Biden will also sign a document designating November 17 as “International Conservation Day” every year, with the meaning of protecting the livelihoods of those who depend on nature, preserving ecosystems, and ensuring that future generations can fully enjoy our natural heritage.
The launch of the ‘Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition’, which will promote $10 billion in public and private investment for land restoration and bioeconomy projects by 2030, as well as $37.5 million in loans for Amazon reforestation projects and technical cooperation for monitoring illegal logging, were also promised. However, the continuity of the U.S. government’s related policy implementation is unclear.
President-elect Donald Trump has denied the climate crisis theory as a “hoax,” disparaged renewable energy, and advocated unlimited fossil fuel production. President-elect Trump’s approach to the environment is also partially revealed in his cabinet appointments. The day before, President-elect Trump nominated Chris Wright, founder, and CEO of Liberty Energy, as Secretary of Energy.
The Washington Post (WP) and other sources reported that Wright, who denies the climate crisis including global warming, has often expressed skeptical views on climate change, and has caught President-elect Trump’s attention.
Former Brazilian Environment Agency Director Sueli Araujo told the AP that “President Biden’s visit to the Amazon is important as a personal expression of will, but in cases like this, it seems difficult to expect concrete results,” expressing concerns that the new U.S. administration may not donate “a single penny” to the Amazon fund.