DiCaprio and Bezos funds want to inject resources to protect the Amazon, says Marina

The foundation led by the actor Leonardo DiCaprio plans to raise around US$ 100 million for environmental protection in Brazil, and the Bezos Foundation, which bears the name of the founder of Amazon, also offered contributions with the same purpose, said minister Marina Silva ( Environment) this Tuesday (17).

Marina participates in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she was invited to join three panels on Brazil and the Amazon and has been sought after by investors interested in putting money into preservation projects in the country.

For now, however, apart from the unfreezing of the Amazon Fund, there are no new concrete commitments, and the strongest signs of investment come from philanthropy, where decisions are freer.

“It is clear that philanthropy has greater agility than when it comes to cooperation with governments,” he said, citing the most numerous steps for agreements between countries.

On Wednesday (18), Marina should meet with John Kerry, the US envoy for the climate and the closest she has to a peer in the US government, in a bilateral meeting, and then again with the participation of representatives from Ghana and the United Kingdom, when the topic should be forests.

This Tuesday, the Minister participated with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, in a panel on Brazil. Despite the great interest in meetings with the two, the audience was not full and was largely composed of Brazilians.

In the debate, representatives of the Lula government reiterated messages that they have been defending throughout the event: the solidity of Brazilian democracy after the coup attacks on the 8th, the country’s commitment to environmental protection and the economic agenda, especially related to fiscal responsibility.

“I think that the so-called market has already understood what the Lula government is, stability, predictability, a government with social concern”, stated Haddad.

According to participants at the event interviewed by Sheetthere is still hesitation regarding the economic plans of the current government, although the environmental agenda is celebrated.

Marina hinted at a possible advance in negotiations for the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur —lack of guarantees on environmental protection was one of the obstacles posed by Europeans—, without giving details, however.

The minister met with representatives of the bloc in Davos, but the negotiations are conducted mainly by the Itamaraty.

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}