Norway will resume financial aid against Amazon deforestation in Brazil, frozen during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, Norway’s Environment Minister announced on Monday, October 31, after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election.
“Regarding da Silva, we note that during the campaign, he emphasized the preservation of the Amazon rainforest and the protection of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon,” Espen Barth Eide said.
“We are therefore eager to get in touch with his teams as soon as possible to prepare the resumption of the historically positive collaboration between Brazil and Norway,” he added.
The Scandinavian country, the leading provider of resources for the protection of the Amazon rainforest, suspended aid to Brazil in 2019, the year Bolsonaro assumed the presidency.
During the far-right leader’s government, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased by 70%, a “scandalous” rate in the words of Barth Eide, who said his country has entered into a “frontal confrontation” with Bolsonaro over the issue.
According to the minister, NOK 5 billion (US$481 million) is waiting to be used in the fund to preserve the Amazon forest.
Lula da Silva said on Sunday, October 30, after announcing his victory in the runoff presidential election, that Brazil is willing to play a leading role against climate change and stressed that the planet needs a “living Amazon”.
With information from G1