US wants Brazil to act alone in fighting deforestation before committing to collaborate

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Joe Biden’s administration believes there will be global participation to prevent deforestation in Brazil but expects the country to present ambitious goals and begin acting promptly.

The United States expects Brazil to be ready to attack more directly the illegal deforestation that happens in the country and that Brazilian actions to fight the climate crisis will be ambitious, a U.S. government official said at a press conference on Wednesday, April 21.

The Americans’ idea is only to collaborate after Brazil acts alone, initially, so that other countries collaborate in conservation and policies to reduce carbon gas emissions.

The USA has organized a conference that will take place virtually between country leaders to discuss climate change policies. This event will take place on Thursday and Friday, April 22 and 23.

On Wednesday, the day before the virtual meeting, two people from the government gave statements to the press, but without revealing their names or positions. One of them talked about Brazil. He said that the Americans understand that President Jair Bolsonaro is pondering the next steps, especially in the plans to curb deforestation.

The Americans have told the Brazilian government that they are interested in seeing immediate action, such as curbing deforestation. According to them, it is clear that there will be a global commitment to help Brazil. However, if countries don’t move forward on their own, it will be difficult for others to get involved.

Summit Meeting

At the summit, President Joe Biden is expected to announce the US goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the American government, the summit will serve the purpose of disclosing the US domestic policy. The intention is also to stimulate other countries to adopt more ambitious targets to combat climate change. The USA has set itself the goal of keeping global warming at 1.5º C.

There will be about 40 countries that, together, represent a large share of global emissions (according to the U.S. government official, from 74% to 80%).

The idea is to discuss, among other topics, how to stop cutting down forests, how to reduce the cost of technologies that emit fewer gases that warm the planet, and how to create financing and an economy around these goals.

Source: G1