The UK will join the US in donating to Brazil’s flagship program to protect the Amazon as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pushes to halt illegal deforestation by 2030.
(Bloomberg) — The UK will join the US in donating to Brazil’s flagship program to protect the Amazon as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pushes to halt illegal deforestation by 2030.
The UK will contribute about $100 million (80 million pounds) to the Amazon Fund, a Brazil-led international initiative created in 2008, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced during a Friday meeting with Lula in London. President Joe Biden said in April that he would ask Congress for $500 million to contribute to the fund, and a growing number of nations are now seeking to join Brazil’s fight to preserve the planet’s largest rainforest.
“I’m delighted to announce that we’ll be investing in your Amazon Fund, and this is being done because of your leadership and effort,” Sunak said during the meeting at his Downing Street residence.
Brazil is also in talks with France, Japan and the European Union over new contributions to the fund, which was launched during Lula’s first presidency and has historically been supported almost entirely by Germany and Norway.
Read More: Brazil in Talks With EU, UK Over Funds to Protect the Amazon
The fund, which currently manages about $740 million, halted operations in 2019 when Germany and Norway froze contributions in response to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policies. It resumed upon Lula’s inauguration in January, and has become a focus of the leftist leader’s efforts to put climate change and environmental protection at the center of his international agenda.
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