Climate change
Historic visit – Biden travels to the Amazon
Updated on November 17, 2024 – 6:49 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Shortly before the change of power in Washington, the outgoing US President Biden wants to once again set an example in the fight against the climate crisis. This is not an issue for his successor.
US President Joe Biden has arrived on his historic visit to the Brazilian Amazon. It is the first visit by a sitting US president to Manaus, on the banks of the Rio Negro in northwestern Brazil. The 81-year-old got an idea of the situation from the air on board a helicopter.
Biden is committed to fighting climate change, but he only has a few weeks left in office. His designated successor Donald Trump wants to increase oil production and turned away from the Paris climate agreement in his first term in office.
The Amazon region is home to the largest tropical rainforest in the world. Large parts of the unique biosystem have already been destroyed by deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture. Because the rainforest in the Amazon region can bind immense amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2, it is also of great importance for the global climate.
After his stop in Manaus, Biden travels to the Brazilian coastal metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. The heads of state and government of leading economic powers from all continents come together there for their annual G20 summit. Biden had previously attended a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) in Peru’s capital Lima.
