Last week, Brazil and France launched a plan to invest $1.1 billion in the Brazilian and Guyanese Amazon over the next four years (AP, Reuters). The announcement was made during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Brazil, where he met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The initiative includes a commitment to combat deforestation in the Amazon by 2030, in alignment with efforts to mitigate global warming. 

President Macron and President Lula also explored sustainable development projects during the visit and engaged with Indigenous leaders (AP, Reuters). President Macron emphasized the global effort to protect rain forests and decorated Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire with a medal for his conservation efforts (AP, Reuters). Chief Raoni, a global environmental activist since the 1980s, raised concerns with President Lula about a proposed railway project that could adversely impact Indigenous communities, and called for consultation (AP, Reuters). 

Despite previous tensions over environmental issues, relations between France and Brazil have recovered from 2019, when President Macron led international pressure on then-President Jair Bolsonaro over fires raging in the Amazon (Reuters). "After a four-year eclipse and a virtual freeze in political relations between our two countries during Bolsonaro's presidency, we are in the process of relaunching the bilateral relationship and the strategic partnership with Brazil," said a French presidential adviser last Friday (Reuters). The leaders aim to address climate change and poverty through collaborative efforts, with upcoming events including the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and United Nations climate talks in Belem (AP).