Brazil's Lula urges donors to help tackle Amazon

The Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling on Britain, France, the United States and others to donate to an international fund to protect the Amazon rainforest, a bulwark against climate change, Lula advisers said on Tuesday that the team approached Switzerland and Canada about contributing.

The Amazon Fund, started under leftist Lula's first administration from 2003 -- 2010, bankrolled conservation projects and counts Norway and Germany as its biggest donors.

Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro froze the fund, citing unspecified spending irregularities among fund-backed projects run by nongovernmental organizations, without providing evidence. The fund has 3 billion reais US $563.71 million that has sat unpent for nearly 4 years.

Stopping deforestation in the Amazon, which absorbs huge amounts of greenhouse gas, is part of Lula's plan to reclaim leadership on climate change measures. Bolsonaro prioritized economic development over environmental protection and appointed climate sceptics as ministers.

Marina Silva, a former environment minister and adviser on Lula's transition team, said that expanding the Amazon Fund would give Lula the resources to take immediate action to protect the environment when he takes office on January 1.

Lula will be working with a 2023 budget that was passed under Bolsonaro and so will be able to contribute to the fund and expand the resources beyond what is already being done by Norway and Germany, which will be very useful for facing this difficult moment, Silva said.

She personally raised the issue with Britain, Canada, France, the United States, and Switzerland while attending the COP 27 UN climate summit in Egypt earlier in November.

The British embassy said it was studying the invitation to join the Amazon Fund.

Izabella Teixeira, Lula's former environment minister and current climate change adviser, told Reuters she had met with Norwegian and German officials on Monday about restarting the fund.

Norway's Environment Minster Espen Barth Eide said at the UN gathering that he expected the fund to restart very soon after the 1st of January. Teixeira confirmed that Britain, France and Switzerland had expressed interest in the fund.

The former minister said she had lunch with the British ambassador to Brazil and head of the UK Department for Environment, Food Rural Affairs Defra about new cooperation, including on the Amazon Fund.

The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit Brazil in the first half of 2023 to discuss potential cooperation before his country makes a decision on joining the fund.

The British Embassy said its climate and environment ministers had been approached by Brazilian Senator Randolfe Rodrigues and Para state governor Helder Barbalho at the summit of COP 27 about donating to the fund. Lula was accompanied by both officials during his visit to COP 27.

The US and Canadian embassies did not respond to requests for comment. French and Swiss embassies didn't want to make a statement.

Under Bolsonaro, deforestation soared to a 15-year high and he called for more farming and mining in the Amazon region.

Lula pledged to eliminate deforestation by using every tool at his disposal, including more money and officials, for enforcing environmental laws.