SAO PAULO – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has told him that her country wants to contribute to the Amazon Fund, a Brazil-led initiative aimed at fighting deforestation.
Frederiksen’s remarks came at a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels, according to the Brazilian government, which did not detail how much Denmark would seek to contribute.
“I was happy to meet her and we will work to improve the relationship between our countries,” Lula wrote on Twitter. “We talked about the environment and the importance of fighting inequalities.”
“She told me of her country’s intention to approve in its budget a contribution to the Amazon Fund, and I invited her to visit Brazil,” the leftist leader added.
First launched in 2009, the Amazon Fund works to combat deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest and spur sustainable development. It was reactivated by Lula this year after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, froze it in 2019.
Norway and Germany were the fund’s initial contributors, but earlier this year U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced their countries would also join that group.
France and Spain have also shown interest in contributing, according to Brazil.
Lula took office in January promising to end illegal deforestation by 2030 after surging destruction under Bolsonaro, who had slashed environmental protection efforts.
In his first six months as president, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell 34% when compared with the previous year, hitting its lowest level in four years, according to preliminary government data.