John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate change, said on Thursday (Apr.20, 2023) that the US respects Brazil’s sovereignty.
In an interview with GloboNews, Kerry said that the US also wants to work with Brazil.
“We expect that we work together [with Brazil] cooperatively.”
“We are honest and sincere about working together in that willingness.”
“We want to be transparent. We respect the sovereignty of Brazil. Brazil is the key here,” he said.
“We want to work with Brazil. It is the beginning.”
“We hope it will be a very important journey for Brazil, Brazilians, and the Amazon climate challenge,” he said.
The US representative also said that the expectation is to cooperate with the Brazilian government.
On Thursday (April 20), US President Joe Biden announced the deposit of US$500 million in the Amazon Fund over the next five years.
The information was also released in a White House press release. Here is the full text (153 KB).
During President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) visit to Washington in February, the US government offered US$50 million, 1tentimes less than what will be announced on Thursday (April 20).
At the time, the offer was well seen in terms of political gesture but fell short of the expectations of the Brazilian entourage, according to Poder360.
The US$500 million, however, can only be released if Biden gets approval from the US Congress.
The Democrat has a majority in the Senate but not in the House.
The announcement was made during the virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate.
To make commitments to face the climate crisis and keep global warming at 1.5°C, the event will have the participation of the 26 biggest economies in the world, including Brazil.
Lula is expected to make a speech at 9:30 am.
According to the communiqué, the North American government plans to:
- decarbonize energy – reduce emissions in the energy and transportation sectors by increasing clean energy production;
- stop deforestation of the Amazon and other critical forests – mobilize public, private, and philanthropic support
- addressing non-CO2 climate pollutants – launch a methane financing sprint to reduce methane emissions;
- advancing carbon management – partner with countries to accelerate carbon capture, removal, use, and storage technologies.
The White House also reported that the government intends to make a US$50 million contribution to a BTG Pactual initiative.
The bank wants to raise IS$1 billion to support the restoration of 300,000 hectares of degraded areas in Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile.
Another payment announced is US$1 billion to the UN (United Nations) Green Climate Fund.
This brings the country’s total contribution to US$2 billion.
As promised during Lula’s visit to the US, Biden encouraged other countries to contribute to the Amazon Fund.
AMAZON FUND
The Amazon Fund was created in 2008 with donations from Norway and Germany and smaller contributions from Petrobras.
Managed by BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), the project raises donations for actions to preserve and monitor the biome.
In April 2019, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) suspended the fund by extinguishing its guiding and technical committees.
In addition, donor countries diverged from the former government’s environmental policy.
On November 3, 2022, the STF (Supreme Court) ordered the government to reactivate the fund within 60 days.
After his inauguration as president, Lula signed a decree reinstating the Amazon Fund. Immediately, the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, announced that his country would provide €35 million to the fund.
Today, the Amazon Fund has R$3.2 billion (US$630 million) in cash.
BRAZIL & THE US
The United States has recently criticized Lula’s position on the international scene.
On Monday (April 17), the US criticized Brazil after President Lula said the country was encouraging the war in Ukraine.
In a conversation with journalists, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Lula “repeats Russian and Chinese propaganda like a parrot without looking at the facts.”
John Kirby also said that Lula’s remarks are “deeply problematic.”
Lula’s comments about the possibility of Ukraine ceding Crimean territory to Russia were “simply wrong.
On Tuesday (April 18), Celso Amorim discussed the “absurdity of the United States’ comments” about the Brazilian president.
In a meeting with journalists on April 6 at the Planalto Palace, President Lula said that Ukraine should cede territories to Russia in exchange for a peace agreement.
“Ukraine’s [President Volodymyr] Zelensky cannot want everything,” Lula said at the time.
On April 7, Zelensky released a video saying that “respect and order will return only when the Ukrainian flag returns to Crimea.” He did not quote Lula.
The Brazilian president also returned to the subject when he left Beijing (China) on Saturday (April 15) after a two-day visit to the Asian country.
He said the United States must stop encouraging the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The United States must stop encouraging war and start discussing peace.”
“The European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Zelensky that peace is in everybody’s interest and war is only in the interest of the 2,” said Lula.
On Sunday (April 16), Lula said in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) that the war was Ukraine’s and Russia’s fault.
“I think that the construction of the war was easier than it will be the exit from the war because the decision of the war was made by 2twocountries [Russia and Ukraine].”
“And now, what are we trying to build? We are trying to build a group of countries without involvement in the war, which don’t want war, and want to build peace in the world,” said Lula.
On Tuesday (April 18), the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, spoke with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) special advisor, Celso Amorim.
According to the US Embassy in Brazil, the representatives discussed bilateral and global issues, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
With information from Poder360
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