Biden’s Amazon visit comes as US climate policy likely to shift under Trump

WASHINGTON - Mr Joe Biden will become the first sitting US president to visit the Brazilian Amazon when he travels to Manaus later in November, a symbolic trip given the United States is likely to see a dramatic change in climate policy under President-elect Donald Trump.

The White House confirmed late on Nov 7 that Mr Biden had included a visit to Manaus, a city of two million people in the heart of the world's largest rainforest, to his South American tour of Brazil and Peru between Nov 14 and 19.

Reuters had first reported in October that Mr Biden was expected to make it to the rainforest ahead of a Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, where he will meet with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"In Manaus, President Biden will visit the Amazon rainforest to engage with local, indigenous, and other leaders working to preserve and protect this critical ecosystem," the White House said in a statement.

Scientists consider the Amazon's protection vital to curbing climate change because of the vast amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide its trees absorb. Leftist Lula has pledged to end deforestation in the area by 2030.

Mr Biden and Mr Lula have seen eye to eye when it comes to climate policy. The Democrat in 2023 pledged to request US$500 million (S$663 million) from the US Congress to support the Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund.

Things, however, should change dramatically when Trump returns to power in January. The Republican has called climate change a hoax and said he plans to withdraw the US from the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate.

Trump's policies are seen as closer to those of Brazil's former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been called "Trump of the tropics" and rolled back environmental protections during his 2019 to 2022 term.

Mr Lula earlier this week congratulated Trump on his victory and said the world needed "dialogue and joint work". He later had a call with Mr Biden to discuss the US leader's trip to Brazil.

"Lula reiterated his friendship and admiration for President Biden and highlighted the strong state of Brazil-U.S. relations in recent years," Mr Lula's office said.

"They both highlighted the closeness of priorities between the two governments on promoting the energy transition."

Mr Biden's visit to the Amazon follows a similar trip by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in the rainforest in March. Brazil will host the COP30 climate summit in Belem in 2025. REUTERS