The Vice Chancellor praised the political will of the new Brazilian government to stop deforestation. He also addresses the skepticism about the Mercosur free trade agreement.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) has announced more financial aid from Germany to protect the rainforest. Habeck said on Tuesday local time in Brazil when visiting a village in the Amazon rainforest near Manaus that Germany would once again provide funds through the International Climate Protection Initiative. Around 30 to 50 million euros are possible. This is intended to promote the protection of the rainforest.
Habeck once again praised the political will of the new Brazilian government to stop the deforestation of the rainforest. However, the “green lung”, which stores large amounts of carbon, has long been under threat, with possible serious consequences for the global climate. Regarding the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the South American confederation of states Mercosur, Habeck said with a view to environmental organizations that in Germany there was great concern that more trade would destroy more rainforest.
Interlocutors in Brazil would see it the other way around. They said: “If you are willing to create a market for sustainability and this market works, then unsustainable economic practices will no longer be possible and will be pushed back.”
Habeck and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir traveled to the Colombian capital Bogotá, where political talks are planned for Wednesday. The new President Gustavo Petro, a left-wing politician, had announced that he would protect the rainforest and curb the exploitation of raw material deposits. Colombia is currently one of Germany’s major suppliers of coal. Since August, the import of Russian coal into the EU has been banned because of the Ukraine war.