Foreign Ministers Ernesto Araújo and Environment Ministers Ricardo Salles met via video conference with US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
According to a note released by the Brazilian federal government, the three discussed possibilities for cooperation and dialogue between the two countries in the areas of climate change and the fight against deforestation.
“It was agreed to deepen the bilateral dialogue in the areas mentioned, with a process structured in frequent meetings, in search of lasting and lasting solutions to common climate challenges,” the note said.
In a post on Twitter after the meeting, the Brazilian chancellor said that “dialogue and cooperation on the environment and climate will be another aggregating element of the Brazil-US partnership that we continue to build”.
The environmental theme is a point of divergence between the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, and the American, Joe Biden.
The Democrat criticizes the destruction of the Amazon and has taken the issue to his campaign. While a candidate, he said that “Brazil’s rainforest is being destroyed” and said he would join other countries, if elected, to offer $ 20 billion (about $ 108 billion). billion reais) for the preservation of the biome. “Stop destroying the forest. Otherwise, you will have significant economic consequences, ”he said. Bolsonaro criticized the position, which he described as “regrettable”.
At the end of January, Biden also announced a climate package, estimated at US $ 2 trillion (roughly R $ 11 trillion), which mentions protecting the Amazon rainforest, but there are no initial plans to sanctions against Brazil.
The order to the White House is to bet on a collaborative plan for the protection of the forest, before applying any sanctions in Brazil. Until further notice, the Planalto will continue to be treated as an ally of the Americans.
In a phone call between Ernesto and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday (11), the Brazilian president was invited to participate in the climate change summit that Biden is expected to organize on April 22, according to interlocutors. Ernesto told the American that the Brazilian leader intends to be part of the event.
Biden’s victory was a setback for Bolsonaro, who openly supported Donald Trump’s re-election in the White House race.
The Brazilian leader was one of the last to congratulate Biden on the victory, and within days of his inauguration he made bad statements from American allies.
Bolsonaro repeated Trump’s accusations – without evidence – that there had been fraud in the US election. On another front, Ernesto called the pro-Trump protesters who invaded the US Congress “good citizens.”
However, after Biden took office, the tone of the Brazilian government changed and Bolsonaro began to send signs of conciliation and moderation.
The day of his inauguration in the United States, the president of Brazil addressed a letter to Biden in which he defended partnerships between the two countries “in favor of sustainable development and environmental protection”.
“We are also ready, moreover, to continue our partnership in favor of sustainable development and the protection of the environment, in particular of the Amazon, on the basis of our recently opened Environmental Dialogue. I note, in passing, that Brazil has demonstrated its commitment to the Paris Agreement with the presentation of its new national goals, ”Bolsonaro wrote.
The pressure in the United States is, however, strong. In early February, a document prepared by university professors and directors of international NGOs was handed over to members of the American administration. The report defends the freezing of agreements, negotiations and political alliances with Brazil while Bolsonaro is in the presidency.
In Itamaraty, the case was treated as a proposal made outside the US government, but it reinforced the need to bring the Bolsonaro government’s arguments to Washington.