Norway promereactivate the Amazon Fund in a government without Bolsonaro

By Isabella Caminoto / 24/06/2022 / 1 minute reading

Norway's Environment and Climate Minister stated that the country is ready to resume payments to Brazil under the Amazon Fund, intended to prevent deforestation, as long as there is a change of government in the October elections.

In an interview given to the agency Reuters This Wednesday (23), Espen Barth Eide, Minister of the Environment and Climate of Norway, stated that the country will reactivate transfers to the Amazon Fund if President Jair Bolsonaro is defeated in the October elections.

ADVERTISING

Norway is ready to summarize payments to Brazil over the prevention of the deforestation of the Amazon if there is a change of government in October's elections as opinion polls suggest, the Nordic country's environment and climate minister said. https://t.co/VNuJvnGY4d
- Reuters Science News (@ReutersScience) June 22, 2022

Between 2008 and 2018, Norway donated US$1,2 billion (around R$6,2 billion) to the Amazon Fund with the aim of helping Brazil prevent, monitor and combat deforestation. The country is the Fund's largest financier, followed by Germany.

In mid-2019, Norway suspended transfers to the Fund, after the current government unilaterally extinguished two committees responsible for its management, thus violating the project's rules.

The freezing of donations occurred amid skyrocketing rates of destruction in the Amazon and the weakening of environmental protection as a whole. Since then, the Amazon Fund has not approved any environmental preservation projects.

ADVERTISING

Information provided by non-governmental organizations indicates that the Fund currently has around R$3 billion unused.