President Joe Biden has become the first sitting American president to visit the Amazon rainforest, marking a significant gesture in the global fight against climate change. On Sunday, Biden stopped in Manaus, Brazil, during a six-day tour of South America, signaling his administration’s continued commitment to preserving the world’s largest tropical rainforest amid concerns over an incoming Trump administration’s potential rollback of climate policies.
The Amazon, a sprawling expanse roughly the size of Australia, plays a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate by storing massive amounts of carbon dioxide. However, it faces alarming deforestation rates and ecological degradation, which have global implications.
Biden’s visit included an aerial tour of the rainforest, meetings with local and Indigenous leaders, and a trip to an Amazonian museum. The visit underscored his administration’s efforts to address the climate crisis, with the White House announcing an additional $50 million contribution to the Amazon Fund. This raises the US’s total pledge to the fund to $100 million, part of a broader $500 million commitment announced last year.
Environmental experts have lauded Biden’s visit as a symbolic milestone. Suely Araújo, former head of Brazil’s environmental protection agency and coordinator at the Climate Observatory, described it as a “personal commitment” from the president. However, Araújo tempered expectations, cautioning that no immediate, tangible outcomes were likely.
“The visit is historic and important, but concrete actions require long-term policy commitments,” she said.
The timing of the visit has sparked concern among environmentalists. With Donald Trump set to assume the presidency in January, many fear that Biden’s achievements in climate policy may be undone. Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” has vowed to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement once again and reverse key energy efficiency regulations implemented under the Biden administration.
Araújo doubts any funds promised under Biden will materialize under Trump’s presidency, citing the Republican president-elect’s aversion to climate initiatives and his prioritization of deregulation and fossil fuel expansion.
Despite looming political uncertainties, the Biden administration has taken several steps to bolster Amazon conservation. Alongside the $50 million pledge to the Amazon Fund, Biden announced the launch of a new finance coalition to attract $10 billion in public and private investments for land restoration and bioeconomy projects by 2030.
A $37.5 million loan to Mombak Gestora de Recursos Ltda. was also unveiled to support large-scale reforestation efforts in Brazil. The initiative focuses on planting native trees on degraded grasslands, aiming to revive biodiversity and combat carbon emissions.
Additionally, Biden plans to sign a proclamation designating November 17 as International Conservation Day, further emphasizing the importance of protecting global ecosystems. During his visit, he highlighted that the US is on track to achieve $11 billion in international climate financing by 2024 — a sixfold increase compared to the beginning of his presidency.
The Amazon rainforest is critical not only to South America but to the entire planet. Home to 10% of Earth’s biodiversity and countless Indigenous communities, it serves as a natural regulator of moisture and rainfall patterns across the region. However, its destruction poses catastrophic risks, including exacerbating climate change, reducing biodiversity, and disrupting ecosystems.
Currently, about two-thirds of the Amazon lies within Brazil. In recent years, the rainforest has suffered unprecedented deforestation, fueled by illegal logging, mining, and agribusiness expansion. The situation has been compounded by a historic drought, which has dried up waterways, displaced thousands of riverine communities, and sparked wildfires. These fires have burned an area larger than Switzerland, blanketing cities across South America in smoke.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office in January, has made reversing deforestation a cornerstone of his administration. Lula has pledged to achieve “zero deforestation” by 2030 and has already made notable progress.
Deforestation rates in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% in the 12 months leading up to July 2023, reaching their lowest levels in nine years. Despite this success, challenges remain. In the same period, the Amazon lost over 6,200 square kilometers (2,428 square miles) of forest, equivalent to the size of Delaware.
Furthermore, Lula’s government has faced criticism for supporting projects that could undermine conservation efforts. These include paving a highway through old-growth forests, proposing oil drilling near the Amazon River’s mouth, and constructing a railway to facilitate soy transportation.
Environmental advocates argue that such projects, while economically significant, could accelerate deforestation and biodiversity loss.
Biden’s visit to the Amazon comes at a pivotal moment for climate diplomacy and US-Brazil relations. It also highlights the divergent environmental priorities between Biden and his predecessor.
During his first term, Trump significantly scaled back federal climate regulations, expanded fossil fuel drilling, and withdrew from the Paris Agreement. In contrast, Biden recommitted the US to the global accord and prioritized investments in renewable energy, reforestation, and international climate financing.
As Biden concludes his trip to South America, his administration’s efforts underscore a broader message: the fight against climate change requires global collaboration and immediate action. However, with political headwinds looming, the long-term impact of these initiatives remains uncertain.
Biden’s stop in Manaus is part of a broader South American tour, which also includes visits to Peru and Brazil for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and G20 summits, respectively. In Lima, Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, signaling a commitment to strengthening US-China relations amid shared climate and economic challenges.
Following his brief stop in Manaus, Biden is set to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit, where climate change is expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
While the historic visit has drawn international attention to the Amazon’s plight, its success will ultimately depend on sustained commitments from both the US and Brazil, as well as international partners. For now, Biden’s message is clear: the Amazon is a global priority, and its preservation is essential to combating climate change.
