Switzerland to donate USD 6 million to Amazon Fund
Brazil will receive CHF 5 million – over USD 6 million – from Switzerland for the Amazon Fund. The announcement was made Sunday (Nov. 9) by Brazilian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva and the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Aloizio Mercadante, during the Presence Switzerland at COP30 event in Belém.
Created in 2008, the Amazon Fund is an initiative that supports initiatives against deforestation, in defense of sustainable development and the improvement of living conditions for the people of the Brazilian Amazon. Managed by BNDES, the fund receives non-reimbursable donations from foreign governments and national companies.
The initiative, resumed in 2023 after being paralyzed during the Jair Bolsonaro administration, also supports the development of deforestation monitoring and control systems in the rest of Brazil and other tropical countries. The fund’s resources have thus far supported 144 projects, benefiting over 600 community organizations and some 260 thousand people.
The actions also seek to strengthen forest management, the bioeconomy, productive inclusion, the appreciation of traditional knowledge, and the strengthening of indigenous, quilombola, and riverine communities.
COP30
The announcement came on the eve of the opening of COP30 in Belém, attended by 194 countries and the European Union.
On Monday (10), negotiations at the conference will begin, focusing on the definitions of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). NDCs are mitigation targets – i.e. commitments made by countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Brazil has committed to reducing its emissions by 59 to 67 percent by 2035, covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors of the economy. To date, 79 countries have disclosed their NDCs. They account for 64 percent of emissions. The remaining 118 countries account for 36 percent. The climate crisis mitigation agenda is expected to move forward with more concrete financing actions from developing countries.
