The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo signed an agreement in Washington on September 13. They agreed to jointly develop tropical rainforests in the Amazon region in order to promote the development of the private sector in the Amazon region.
Pompeo said: "We are launching an 11-year, $100 million investment in biodiversity conservation projects in the Amazon region. The project will be led by the private sector to support difficult access to forested areas by distance or funding issues. The companies business need protect biodiversity.” Brazilian Foreign Minister Araujo said in an interview with the media that rational development of tropical rainforests and economic development are the only way to protect the rainforest. Brazil needs to take fruitful new initiatives for living in the Amazon region. People create jobs and increase income.
The United States and Brazil are the two main critics of the Paris Agreement. Pompeo and Araujo’s speeches to the media have criticized the international community’s efforts to address climate change, saying they ignore commercial interests. So far this year, more than 80,000 forest fires have occurred in the tropical rain forests of the Amazon. According to a report by the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) in Brazil, the amount of tropical forest felling in the Amazon region has increased by 67% compared to 2018, and the number of forest fires has increased by 84% over the same period in 2018. The Brazilian Space Agency said that the Amazon rainforest experienced a record forest fire in 2019. The latest data shows that the forest fire has spread 950,000 hm2. Although Brazil has deployed armed forces to launch firefighting operations in nine states of the Amazon, the international community believes that Brazil needs the help of its allies to curb this extreme forest fire. The Brazilian government also said earlier that they did not have enough manpower to put out the forest fires in the Amazon.
The Group of Seven agreed at the summit meeting in Biarritz, France, August 24-26, 2019, to immediately provide $22 million in assistance to the Amazon region to help the Amazon countries fight out the forest fires in the region. To launch a long-term global initiative to protect the rainforest. The United Kingdom and Canada announced that in addition to the aid funds provided by the Group of Seven, an additional $12.2 million and $11 million in aid will be provided to help prevent forest fires in the Amazon region, which will bring aid totaling $40 million. However, Brazil refused to accept the $22 million aid package proposed by G7.
Norway and Germany have been helping the Brazilian government reduce deforestation in the Amazon rainforest for the past 10 years. During this period, Norway funded the Amazon Fund with approximately $1.2 billion to protect the Amazon rainforest, making it the largest contributor to date. However, due to the Brazilian government's unwillingness to commit to reducing the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, Germany announced on August 2 that it will suspend 35 million euros ($39.5 million) in aid to Brazil. Norway also suspended on August 15. Donation to the Brazilian government's Yasunson Fund.
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