French Chancellor Catherine Colonna said this Wednesday (8) that France and the European Union are studying the possibility of contributing to the Amazon Fund, a financing mechanism for environmental projects that was blocked during the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) administration.
“France is studying the possibility of a bilateral contribution, just as the European Union, of which it is a member, is very actively studying the possibility of a contribution [ao Fundo Amazônia]”, said the minister, highlighting the importance given by Europeans to the initiative.
The statement was made after Chancellor Mauro Vieira stated, in response to a question from journalists at the Itamaraty Palace, that France is “very welcome in all types of collaboration, cooperation and also participation in the Amazon Fund”.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the issue of the environment was widely discussed during the meeting with the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.
“We talked at length about President Lula’s orientation on the environment, his new policy already declared since November, at COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh [no Egito]when he explained in detail his objectives and all the measures he would take to protect the environment,” he said.
“Instantly, there were very positive reactions from some countries regarding the Amazon Fund, which we hope will be fully reactivated, that it can be used to finance important projects for the sustainable development of the Amazon”, he continued.
The initiative to raise funds for conservation and combating deforestation in the forest is currently supported by Norway (BRL 3.1 billion granted so far) and by Germany (BRL 192 million) —and, to a lesser extent, by Petrobras (the donations between 2011 and 2018 totaled R$ 17 million).
At the end of January, during a visit by the German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, Germany made official the allocation of R$ 192 million to the Amazon Fund in a broader package for sustainable development policies, in the amount of R$ 1 ,1 billion.
Still during the transitional government, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) started conversations with different foreign governments to try to increase the number of donors to the Amazon Fund. France had already been consulted about possible donations, as well as the United Kingdom, and negotiations were underway for Switzerland to make a contribution to the fund.
The nod was made to the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho (MDB), who held meetings on the subject during COP27, the UN climate conference (United Nations) in Egypt.
The Amazon Fund was paralyzed during the Bolsonaro administration. In 2019, Norway and Germany announced the freezing of transfers after the decision of the Brazilian government to extinguish the two governance bodies of the fund: the Guiding Committee (Cofa) and the Technical Committee (CTFA).
Another factor that contributed to the interruption of the budget was the deforestation records recorded in recent years. The anti-environmental rhetoric of Bolsonaro, seen in Europe as a climate denier, has consolidated the fund’s paralysis.
Since Lula’s victory at the polls, there has been goodwill in the international community to resume relations, even to expand the number of donors to the fund.
The climate agenda is seen by the Lula government as the fastest way for the country to stand out on the global board. The strategy is already being put into practice.
After being elected, Lula met with different foreign representatives responsible for dealing with climate change —such as John Kerry (United States), Xie Zhenhua (China), Espen Barth Eide (Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway) and Teresa Ribera (Minister of Ecological Transition in Spain).
During her visit to Brazil, the French chancellor highlighted the country’s role in the environmental agenda and said she supports the Brazilian candidacy to host COP30, the United Nations climate conference due to take place in 2025.
It is up to the United Nations system, linked to the Climate Convention, to decide in favor or against Brazil’s candidacy.
“We talk a lot about environmental issues, our challenges in defense of the environment, defense of the planet, the fight against deforestation”, he said.
“I congratulated Brazil’s willingness to organize COP30 very soon, in the Amazon perhaps. France supports this ambition and will help Brazil organize it and make it successful. You can count on us for that. “
“And we know that we can count on Brazil, which is one of the pillars of building global environmental law, to maintain the highest possible level of ambition to curb climate change,” he added.
The Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France arrived in Brazil on Tuesday (7) to restore ties between the countries and prepare for President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to BrasÃlia. This Wednesday, she had a meeting with Minister Marina Silva (Environment and Climate Change) and, after an appointment with Chancellor Mauro Vieira, met with President Lula.
In an interview with SheetColonna also celebrated the signals given by the current government in relation to environmental policy and stated that France supports Brazil’s accession to the OECD (Organization for Cooperation and Development) —the European country had reservations due to the increase in deforestation and illegal mining during the Bolsonaro government.
The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.
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