PanamaTimes

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Brazil's Amazon must be protected to reach global climate goal, U.S. envoy says

Brazil's Amazon must be protected to reach global climate goal, U.S. envoy says

The world cannot meet its climate goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius unless it protects the Amazon rainforest, climate envoy John Kerry said in Brazil on Tuesday while discussing possible U.S. funding for jungle conservation.
Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assumed office on Jan. 1, jump-starting cooperation with the United States on climate change and deforestation after rocky relations under his right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Deforestation hit a 15-year high under Bolsonaro, who rolled back environmental protections.

Lula and U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to work together on climate change in a meeting at the White House earlier this month. On deforestation, Washington announced it intended to contribute to Brazil's Amazon Fund, which supports conservation projects in the jungle region.

"The truth is that unless the Amazon is protected from those who would deforest it and who abuse it, we cannot keep the temperature to 1.5 degrees (Celsius)," Kerry said, referring to the climate target in the Paris Agreement.

"The reality is that the Amazon is the test of all of our humanity."

Protecting the Amazon is vital to curbing climate change because of the vast quantity of greenhouse gas its trees absorb.

Appearing alongside Brazil Environment Minister Marina Silva, Kerry told reporters in Brasilia that he traveled to Brazil to work out the details of what Lula and Biden agreed to.

He said that the United States was still considering how much to give to the Amazon Fund.

Kerry said the U.S. Senate is considering a bill with $4.5 billion in funding for forest conservation, while the House of Representatives is studying a proposal with $9 billion.

But, Kerry said the administration "will have to fight" to get those proposals through Congress.

Kerry and Silva said that the United States and Brazil had restarted a bilateral working group set up in 2015 to discuss cooperation on climate and environment, which had stalled under Bolsonaro.

Silva said she discussed with Kerry the possibility of opening up the United States to more sustainable sourced products from Brazil.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
×