The United States and Brazil, the largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, are working in partnership to achieve “a common desire, a common objective, a common goal to leave the next generation a better future,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. We are “focusing on the areas and on the issues that really have an impact in their daily lives.” The first of these is “the one existential threat to humanity, and that’s climate change.”
“The rainforest – the Amazon – is one of the world’s greatest natural resources when it comes to actually effectively dealing with climate change carbon emissions. … So, the United States is working side by side with Brazil to support its efforts to preserve the rainforest, to combat deforestation. We’re putting resources into that; we’re engaged with many other countries around the world to encourage them to participate.”
“In 2025, Brazil will head up the COP, COP30,[Conference of the Parties to the UN Climate Change Conference] in Belém. This is a very important opportunity to advance progress on the many different ways in which all of us are dealing with climate change, and we applaud Brazil’s leadership,” said Secretary Blinken.
“Another area where Brazil is leading, and the United States has partnered with Brazil, is on dealing with the challenge of food insecurity and global hunger,” he said.
“With Brazil, we have a partnership to bring artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve the soil in countries. And one of the things that we found and is at the heart of one of our own major new initiatives – VACS, our Vision for Adapted Crops and Soil – is when you have resilient and nutritious seeds resilient to climate change and other extreme weather patterns, when you have strong soil, anything is possible.”
“In all of the areas of focus that Brazil has set forward, again, it comes to advancing the rights of workers and laborers, whether it comes to dealing with climate change, food security, whether it comes to reforming the institutions that shape how countries interact around the world – we are working hand in hand with Brazil on that,” said Secretary Blinken.
“We remain committed – to advancing our common agenda, both between the United States and Brazil directly as well as through Brazil’s leadership of the G20.”
