The US government’s special envoy for climate issues, John Kerry, said this Wednesday (10) that the talks with the Brazilian government at COP26, the UN Conference on Climate Change, are based on concrete measures, and not on promises.
Kerry met at the Brazil pavilion, set up during the event in Glasgow, with the minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, and negotiators from both countries.
On the way out, when asked about his confidence in the Brazilian government, he replied that the conversation “is not based on trust, it is based on steps; it is based on concrete things that people do”.
The meeting with the Brazilian government takes place at a time when the Biden administration is under pressure from Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists to keep their distance from President Jair Bolsonaro, whom they accuse of attacking human rights.
The American government, for its part, wants to see the approval of article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which regulates the carbon market and whose negotiations have been blocked by Brazil in the most recent COPs.
The 40-minute meeting was attended by two of the main US negotiators, including the one dealing with finance — the need to receive funding from the richest countries has been stressed by the Brazilian minister in his statements and speeches in Glasgow.
Before meeting Kerry, Leite had told the leaders’ plenary that the $100 billion pledge made by developed countries and not kept is already insufficient to fund an “inclusive green transition”.
“More ambitious volumes are needed, with easy access and quick execution”, stated the Brazilian minister, addressing the “countries that historically and currently are responsible for the greatest volumes of atmospheric pollution”.
According to participants at the meeting, the US offered the possibility of cooperating with technology and financing in the area of ​​forests, while the regulation of the carbon market was discussed.
The Brazilian government has asked Americans for more funding and cooperation to reduce methane emissions as well — Americans have one of the largest herds in the world and advanced technology to contain the polluting gases produced by animals during digestion.
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