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. During a visit to a village in the Amazon rainforest near Manaus in Brazil, Habeck said that Germany would again provide funds through the international climate protection initiative, around 30 to 50 million euros are possible – admittedly a very small sum compared to other government spending.
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.
According to Habeck, interlocutors in Brazil see it the other way around. You said: “If you are willing to create a market for sustainability and this market works, then a non-sustainable way of doing business will no longer be possible and will be pushed back.”
Habeck and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir traveled on to the Colombian capital of 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 war in Ukraine.
