The petition of the residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that the Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest and makes up half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests, home to about three million species of plants and animals and 1.6 million indigenous people; further notes that the forest is the world’s largest natural carbon sinks, absorbing and storing an amount of carbon equivalent to 15 to 20 years of global CO2 emissions from the atmosphere; and further declares continued deforestation of the Amazon is contributing to the forest’s inability to recover from droughts, fires and landslides.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage the Brazilian Government to protect forest land and end large-scale deforestation, to prevent nearly half of the Amazon rainforest from collapsing and that these irreversible consequences for the Amazon and the planet are avoided.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Martyn Day, Official Report, 30 April 2024; Vol. 749, c. 229 .]
[P002964]
Observations from the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the hon. Member for Macclesfield (David Rutley):
The UK is committed to working with Brazil to address deforestation of the Amazon and its detrimental impact on global climate, environmental conservation and the communities who reside there.
Following his election in October 2022, the UK welcomed President Lula’s vocal commitment to Brazil’s domestic action on climate change, including net reduction in deforestation by 2030. We commend Brazil for delivering impressive results already, notably a 51% reduction of deforestation levels in 2023.
Climate and nature have long been central to the UK’s relationship with Brazil, and we are proud to be the third biggest contributor of climate finance to Brazil, with more than £511 million committed.
The Prime Minister met President Lula in May last year, when he announced a UK contribution of £80 million to Brazil’s Amazon fund. An additional £35 million was announced at COP28, making the UK the fund’s second largest donor.
This funding supports initiatives under the green and inclusive growth (GIG) partnership, announced by former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly during his visit to Brazil last May, for which an implementation plan was launched at COP28 in December.
The GIG partnership is driving strengthened co-operation and dialogue to support Brazil’s economic transition to net zero, turn the tide on deforestation, and develop a bioeconomy to generate new commercial opportunities for Brazil and the UK.
Taking care of forests and their peoples is a key pillar. Our aim is to combat deforestation and promote a socio-bioeconomy involving non-timber products, in addition to fostering biodiversity goals more broadly and tackling illegal gold supply chains.
Promoting the rights and engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities who reside in the Amazon is also a priority. This year, our partnerships for forests (P4F) programme came to an end, with a total of £24 million invested in Brazilian bioeconomy businesses. In the state of Para alone, which is set to host COP30 next year, P4F reached more than 3,500 people and secured more than 16,000 hectares under improved management of sustainable land use.
This year, with Brazil holding the G20 presidency, the UK continues to engage closely to support concrete outcomes on climate, nature and energy.
The second permanent under-secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Nick Dyer, visited Brazil in March. He visited a UK PACT project on sustainable supply chains in Para and met with civil society representatives to discuss the threat posed by deforestation to indigenous communities and the alternative bioeconomies that could enable sustainable livelihoods.
My visit to Brazil in May, shortly after the devastating extreme weather and flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, highlighted the importance of working together with Brazil and other international partners to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis to lessen the impact of similar incidents in future.
Looking ahead to 2025 and Brazil’s hosting of COP30, at a pivotal moment 10 years on from the Paris agreement, we are exploring how to support Brazil’s vision and have already started a series of COP26-to-COP30 dialogues to share expertise from the preparation and delivery of COP26. This includes engaging with Brazil on its proposal to develop a tropical forests forever fund by COP30.
We will continue to work with Brazil through to COP30 and beyond to protect forests, address the global climate and nature crisis and build a more sustainable, just and inclusive future together.