U.S. President Joe Biden made a historic visit to the Brazilian Amazon on Nov. 17, where he pledged $50 million for the state-led Amazon Fund to help conserve the world’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest.
“It’s often said that the Amazon is the lungs of the world, but in my view, our forests and natural wonders are the heart and soul of the world,” Biden said at a press conference at the botanical garden in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon. “So, let’s preserve this sacred place, for our time and forever, for the benefit of all humanity.”
Biden’s visit marks the first time that a U.S. president has visited the Amazon Rainforest while in office. His funding pledge, subject to approval by the U.S. Congress, comes just two months before Donald Trump, a climate-change skeptic who won the U.S election on Nov. 5, is set to reassume the presidency. Observers say they expect a drastic backpedaling on climate issues.
“It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January. I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so,” Biden said.
During his visit, Biden boarded the official Marine One helicopter for a 25-minute excursion over the Negro and Solimões rivers, whose water levels hit record lows in September amid an ongoing drought. Biden was accompanied by Brazil’s leading climate scientist, Carlos Nobre, and U.S. climate envoy John Podesta.
The extreme degradation and deforestation in the surrounding areas were visible from the air, Nobre told Mongabay, saying that the U.S. president saw illegal fires, burned plots of land, and the effects of the climate change-fueled drought of the last two years.
“Many tributaries of the Amazon and Rio Negro were bone dry, with countless boats and ships stranded in the dried-out sections,” Nobre said in an audio message. “We also flew over two active forest fires south of Manaus. These fires weren’t in agricultural zones or pastures, they were deep in the forest, which is incredibly alarming.
“Later in the flight, we passed over a well-protected conservation unit northeast of Manaus. It was striking to see the well-preserved forest alongside degraded areas,” he added.
The same day, the White House announced support for private sector investments in large-scale reforestation and carbon capture projects led by financial institutions such as Brazil’s BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America.
Biden said the U.S. international climate finance has surpassed his administration’s $11 billion goal, up from $1.5 billion in 2021, though Mongabay has previously reported that some of these investments were funneled into commercial tree farms rather than biome conservation.
Banner image: Joe Biden, accompanied by his daughter and granddaughter, meets Altaci Kokama, leader of the Kokama people, Kelliane Wapichana, secretary-general of the Women’s Movement of the Indigenous Council of Roraima, and others. Image by White House via X.
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