By Jarrett Renshaw
LIMA (Reuters) – Joe Biden will become the first U.S. president to visit the Amazon (Nasdaq: ) rainforest on Sunday as he flags up the dangers of global warming often dismissed by Donald Trump, who in January I entered the White House determined to step up. to fight climate change.
Biden is traveling from Lima, Peru to Manaus, Brazil, to meet with local leaders working to protect the Amazon, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, which Issues ranging from hunger and poverty to global governance should be addressed. and climate change.
Scientists say protecting the Amazon is vital to curbing climate change because its trees are absorbing it.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to end deforestation in his country’s rainforests by 2030 and urged wealthy nations to contribute to the goal.
Last year, Biden said he would ask the US Congress for $500 million to support the Amazon fund run by Brazil. By July, however, the United States had met only one-tenth of that pledge.
Trump has called climate change a hoax and plans to roll back key Biden climate legislation to help pay for an extension of the tax cuts he won in his first term.
The incoming Republican president aims to boost U.S. oil and output to record levels, and to roll back rules put in place by Biden to wean gasoline-powered cars off U.S. roads.
