The Joe Biden government expects President Jair Bolsonaro to be ‘serious’ about discussing deforestation at the Climate Leaders’ Summit and excludes, at this point, focusing on financial resources in exchange for pledges preservation of the environment, as stated by the Minister of the Environment Environment, Ricardo Salles.
“We really hope that President Bolsonaro will seize this opportunity [cúpula do clima] to demonstrate its seriousness, fight against climate change and reduce emissions caused by deforestation in the Amazon, ”a spokesperson for the US State Department told Folha.
Bolsonaro is attending the Climate Leaders Summit hosted by the Biden government, which will be held virtually April 22-23.
Asked if the United States would strike a deal with Brazil offering financial resources in return for the preservation of the Amazon, the spokesperson replied: “We continue to focus our conversations on the measures necessary to combat the illegal deforestation, instead of thinking about specific sources of funding. “.
The answer is a cold shower on Salles’ claims, which tries to convince the United States to send money to Brazil in exchange for deforestation reduction targets. In an interview with the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Salles said he would be able to reduce the devastation of the Amazon by up to 40% in 12 months – but only if he received $ 1 billion in foreign countries.
In a meeting with members of the team of John Kerry, the Biden government’s special climate envoy, Salles showed slides with the image of a dog sitting, wagging its tail in front of a roast chicken machine. According to a report by Folha, the design was accompanied by the text “awaiting payment,” and the chickens had dollar signs stamped on their breasts.
The US government expects Bolsonaro, in his summit speech next week, to make “a very clear commitment to end illegal deforestation, with tangible measures to punish deforesters and a political signal that deforestation illegal and land invasions [grilagem] they will not be tolerated, ”the State Department spokesman said. “We believe it is realistic to expect Brazil to experience a real reduction in deforestation by the end of the 2021 fire season.”
The Biden administration has come under pressure from international environmental and human rights organizations not to strike a resource transfer deal to the Bolsonaro government. In a recent meeting with members of Kerry’s team, the organizations stressed that the president was unreliable and that transferring resources before real progress was made would reward the setback in Brazilian environmental policy. and would help Bolsonaro’s public relations strategy.
This Thursday (15), activists and lawmakers are promoting a side event at the leaders’ summit, the Amazon Climate Forum, with the participation of Sonia Guajajara, spokesperson for Apib (Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), the deputy Federal Councilor Joenia Wapichana by Daniel Wilkinson, Director of Environment and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch, members of the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, such as Raul Grijalva and Mark Pocan, and artists such as Morgan Freeman and Barbra Streisand.
Actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Mark Ruffalo have also joined the offensive against a deal that rewards Bolsonaro. “Joe Biden, your options are either the Amazon or Bolsonaro. Listen to the original people [indígenas] and make the right decision for the Brazilian people and for our Earth, ”Ruffalo wrote on Twitter.
Ambassadors from other countries, in addition to the United States, indicated, by video conference with the Brazilian chancellor, Carlos França, on Friday (10), that the financial support will not be released until after the presentation of the results.
According to a Folha report, this was the message from the heads of diplomatic missions in Brasilia of Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States and the European Union.
“We recognize and respect Brazil’s sovereignty in the face of environmental challenges, and we can strengthen our strong record of environmental cooperation to achieve more ambitious goals,” said the spokesperson for the US State Department.
“The Leaders’ Summit is an opportunity for Brazil to demonstrate environmental leadership on the world stage. And we hope that the leaders’ statements will be based on concrete actions in their countries. “