U.S. President Joe Biden began a historic Brazil trip Sunday, becoming the first sitting American president to visit the Amazon rainforest to mark what the White House calls his “legacy” on fighting climate change, couching it in economic terms of the race between countries in “harnessing the clean energy revolution.”
Biden landed in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, doorway to the world’s largest jungle. Biden announced that under his administration, the United States has surpassed the goal of providing $11 billion per year in international climate financing in 2024 — a key component in the fight against climate change lobbied by countries of the Global South.
“The fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come. It may be the only existential threat to all our nations and to all humanity,” Biden said. The remarks were delivered amid the backdrop of lush green vegetation at a nature reserve and “living museum” in Manaus that celebrates the Amazon rainforest and its biodiversity.
During his brief Manaus visit — sandwiched between the Asia Pacific Economic Forum meeting in Lima, Peru, and the summit of the 20 largest economies, the G20, in Rio de Janeiro — Biden announced U.S. investments in several climate initiatives, including $50 million for the Amazon Fund. He met with Indigenous leaders and toured the Amazon jungle via helicopter.
During the flight, Biden saw the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon River, and the ravages of shore erosion and fire damage to the jungle, according to the White House. The majority of fires in the Amazon are linked to deforestation.
In the past four years, the administration has “created a bold new playbook that has turned tackling the climate crisis into an enormous economic opportunity – both at home and abroad,” the White House said.
