U.S. President Joe Biden began a historic Brazil trip Sunday, becoming the first sitting American president to visit the Amazon rainforest to mark what the White House calls his "legacy" on fighting climate change, couching it in economic terms of the race between countries in “harnessing the clean energy revolution.”
Biden landed in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, doorway to the world's largest jungle. Biden announced that under his administration, the United States has surpassed the goal of providing $11 billion per year in international climate financing in 2024 -- a key component in the fight against climate change lobbied by countries of the Global South.
“The fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come. It may be the only existential threat to all our nations and to all humanity,” Biden said. The remarks were delivered amid the backdrop of lush green vegetation at a nature reserve and “living museum” in Manaus that celebrates the Amazon rainforest and its biodiversity.
During his brief Manaus visit -- sandwiched between the Asia Pacific Economic Forum meeting in Lima, Peru, and the summit of the 20 largest economies, the G20, in Rio de Janeiro -- Biden announced U.S. investments in several climate initiatives, including $50 million for the Amazon Fund. He met with Indigenous leaders and toured the Amazon jungle via helicopter.
During the flight, Biden saw the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon River, and the ravages of shore erosion and fire damage to the jungle, according to the White House. The majority of fires in the Amazon are linked to deforestation.
In the past four years, the administration has “created a bold new playbook that has turned tackling the climate crisis into an enormous economic opportunity – both at home and abroad,” the White House said.
Scaling back climate efforts
Several diplomatic sources at APEC and the G20, who spoke with VOA under condition of anonymity to discuss a diplomatically sensitive matter, expressed concern that U.S. efforts will be dramatically scaled back under the incoming administration. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in January.
During his earlier administration, Trump sent shockwaves among climate activists when he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, the world’s main multilateral forum to mitigate climate change. He has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax.”
Acknowledging the two months he has left in office, Biden said he is leaving his successor and the country a “strong foundation to build on, if they choose to do so.”
“It's true, some may seek to want to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that's under way in America, but nobody, nobody can reverse it,” Biden said, underscoring that the push toward clean energy has bipartisan support and that other countries are harnessing it for their economic progress.
“The question now is, which government will stand in the way, and which will seize the enormous economic opportunity,” he said, in what may be a reference to the future of U.S.-China rivalry on clean energy under his successor.
Biden’s remarks came a day after a meeting in Lima with Chinese President Xi Jinping, likely their last meeting while Biden is in office.
China is currently the world's leader in electric vehicles, or EVs, accounting for more than half of global production and exports. Trump, meanwhile, is reportedly trying to roll back the $7,500 EV purchase tax credit for American consumers, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Biden’s signature legislation on clean energy and climate change.
Celso Amorim, chief adviser to the president of the Federal Republic of Brazil, said he will not prejudge the incoming Trump administration.
“I judge actions, so we’ll see later how these actions evolve,” he told VOA Saturday, ahead of the G20 summit that Brazil is hosting. “For now, Biden has been a good partner for Brazil, for President [Luis Inacio] Lula [da Silva].”
Beginning Monday in Rio, Biden will focus on workers’ rights and clean economic growth and attend the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. It is Lula’s initiative aimed at accelerating global efforts in the fight against hunger and poverty by 2030.
Asked about Biden’s message to world leaders concerned about the durability of U.S. commitments on various issues, including climate change and poverty reduction, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is “focusing on the moment” and continuing progress achieved in the past four years for the remainder of his term.
A senior administration official briefing reporters after Biden’s Amazon visit left open the possibility that the incoming administration may continue the fight against climate change.
“Maybe he'll come down here and see the forest and see the damage being done from the drought and other things and change his mind about climate change,” the official said, referring to Trump.
