On his first day in office in January 2021, President Joe Biden announced the return of the U.S. to the Paris Agreement. A few months later, he hosted the Leaders Summit on Climate, signaling to other world leaders that climate was back on the U.S. agenda.
As Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva prepared to meet Mr. Biden at the White House last Friday — the first meeting between the two men as presidents — expectations were high in the Brazilian press that he would announce U.S. participation in the Amazon Fund, which finances sustainable development projects in the rainforest.
The fund, sponsored primarily by Norway and Germany, is managed by Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES), which is responsible for raising and investing funds, monitoring the sponsored projects, and providing accountability.
However, in the joint statement issued by both heads of state after their meeting in the White House, Mr. Biden stopped short of making a rock-solid pledge.
“The U.S. announced its intent to work with Congress to provide funds for programs to protect and conserve the Brazilian Amazon,” the text reads, “including initial support for the Amazon Fund.”
No numbers were specified by either country, although the Brazilian press reported an initial offering by Washington of USD 50 million — an amount dwarfed by the...
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