Joe Biden made historical past on Sunday as the primary sitting US president to go to the Amazon rainforest, drawing consideration to the hazards of worldwide warming as he continues to conflict with incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s dismissive stance on local weather change.
Biden’s go to to Manaus, Brazil, included a tour of the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers, which have been severely impacted by the area’s worst drought in a long time. Accompanied by Brazilian scientist Carlos Nobre, Biden warned of the rainforest’s dire state as a result of deforestation-driven local weather shifts.
Throughout his four-hour cease, Biden introduced a further $50 million contribution to the Amazon Fund, doubling the US dedication to $100 million. Final yr, he had pledged $500 million, however solely a fraction of that has been delivered to date.
Biden additionally met with indigenous leaders on the Museum of the Amazon and praised Brazil’s efforts underneath President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to finish deforestation by 2030. The rainforest’s conservation is essential for mitigating local weather change, because it absorbs huge quantities of carbon dioxide.
The go to comes forward of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the place world governance and local weather change shall be key subjects. Nevertheless, Biden’s local weather initiatives face uncertainty with Trump’s return to workplace in January. Trump has vowed to reverse Biden’s local weather insurance policies, prioritise fossil gas manufacturing, and lower laws on gasoline-powered autos.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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