A UK minister says the UK may join the Amazon fund

British Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Therese Coffey said the UK is considering joining the $1 billion Amazon fund reopened by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to fund sustainability in the rainforest.

“It’s something we’re seriously looking forward to,” Kofi told Reuters on Monday (2) in Brasilia, where he attended Lula’s inauguration on Sunday (1) on his first visit to Brazil.

She said the British government was in talks with the fund’s current partners, Norway and Germany, who have donated US$1.2 billion to set up the initiative.

The fund has been frozen by Jair Bolsonaro’s government, alleging irregularities among projects run by NGOs, without providing any evidence.

One of Lula’s first decisions in office was to reverse Bolsonaro’s policies that weakened environmental protections and aided deforestation that reached a 15-year high, including a measure that encouraged mining on protected indigenous lands.

Therese said the UK has much to offer Brazil, including rural sustainability programs and low-carbon architecture to help drum up money from its strength as a global green finance hub.

She said the UK is Brazil’s third largest contributor to the environment, committing more than £250m from its International Pilot Fund.

The British minister met with Environment Minister Marina Silva, Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro and Indigenous Minister Sonia Guajara.

“It is very important on my first working day that the UK shares the same goals,” said Minister Favaro, who also welcomed Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sfridenko, according to a statement from the ministry.

Indigenous communities have been particularly hard hit by illegal mining that has escalated alongside deforestation in the Amazon under Bolsonaro.

“I see a desire and determination to change that,” said the British minister.

Therese added that Para Helder Governor Barbalho had invited her to visit the state to see the projects in the rainforest.

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