Brazil firms, NGOS urge Biden to create $9 billion forest fund

Hundreds of Brazilian companies and environmental groups urged President Joe Biden to make good on US climate pledges as lawmakers in Washington prepared to debate a measure yesterday on launching a US$9 billion anti-deforestation fund.

The AMAZON21 bill, aimed at helping developing countries protect their forests, "would represent an important expression of commitment by President Biden and the US Congress regarding the fight against climate change by targeting one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions", the Brazilians wrote in a letter to Biden and congressional leaders.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee was to hold hearings yesterday on the legislation, introduced after Biden promised at the UN climate summit in Glasgow last November to provide that amount to fund projects that fight deforestation.

Home to around 60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil is a key player in the battle to stop the advancing destruction of the world's forests, which is accelerating global warming by turning them from carbon absorbers to carbon sources.

The letter, dated on Tuesday, highlighted recent studies finding that more than three-quarters of the Amazon has been losing its resilience since the start of this century, and that the world's biggest rainforest is approaching a "tipping point".

The document was signed by a broad-based list of 23 coalitions representing more than 300 companies and organizations, ranging from agribusiness firms that are themselves accused of fueling deforestation – top beef exporter JBS and soy exporter Cargill, for example – to environmental and indigenous-rights groups.

Brazil's government has long argued wealthy nations should contribute financing for developing countries to protect their forests, to offset the revenue lost by not developing the land.

The letter was addressed to Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top-ranking members of Congress.