Venezuela supports Colombian proposal to regenerate Amazon rainforest

The president of the Republic, Nicholas Maduro, He ruled this Tuesday in favor of the proposal put forward by the Colombian president Gustavo Petroto create a block for the protection of the Amazon rainforest, during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2022 (COP27), in Egypt.

This was expressed during his speech at the High-Level Regional Dialogue on the Amazon as a pillar of Climate and Life Balance, parallel to the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2022 (COP27), in Egypt.

“I want to congratulate President Gustavo Petro for taking this initiative within the framework of this summit of 196 countries,” Maduro said.

In this sense, Maduro proposed to Petro to execute the initiative through the already existing Organization of the Treaty for the Amazonian Cooperation ACTO.

“President Petro, we have the Amazon Cooperation Treaty that has a legacy, an institutional framework. I think it should be the first action, to recover the treaty with its legacy, with its historical capacity to observe the Amazon, and with its recovery proposals.”

For Maduro, these plans to recover the Amazonian territories in the midst of the Egyptian summit are a light of hope, because “we will never join the ranks of pessimism or skepticism.”

He also said that experts, scientists and researchers from the United Nations point out that “the ravages caused by the production of greenhouse gases, pollution and global warming threaten us and cancel the deadlines to be reversed.”

For this reason, he said, “if we South Americans have any responsibility, it is to stop the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and initiate a process of coordinated, efficient, active recovery of the Amazon, what they call the forest regeneration of the life of the Amazon.”

Arrival of Petro and Lula in South America

The Head of State, in his speech, described as good news for the region and especially for the recovery of the Amazonian territories, the assumption of Petro as president in Colombia, and the recent election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvain Brazil.

“We have good news in South America, the arrival of you (Gustavo Petro) in South America and the arrival of Lula da Silva with the powerful Brazilian environmental movements,” he said.

“If we can get something truly, concretely, with a deep sense of commitment to humanity, it is our commitment to put the regeneration of our Amazon on the presidential and social agenda of our countries. Knowing the impact it has on the life of our continent and humanity », he added.

Petro, for his part, agreed with President Maduro in retaking the Amazon Cooperation Treaty to develop the plan, and also considered the assumption of Lula da Silva in Brazil encouraging to promote it.

In this sense, he proposed to the leaders of the countries with Amazonian territory to meet at the beginning of 2023, with Lula already in office, “so that this effort becomes one of the great flags of humanity.”

Background

«»We have enough strength to propose something positive to the world. Here is a positive and fundamental fact. The American dialogue has to be established and we have to open a fund of financial capacity to do it,” Petro said.

“Revitalizing the Amazon forest involves money, it is not high annually, but it has to be permanent, through at least two decades of efforts if we want to revitalize the forest,” he assured.

He explained that Colombia plans to contribute from its national budget, for 20 years, each year, 200 million dollars, to revitalize the jungle.

“We hope that (the fund) can be expanded with the contributions of the world in this task,” he said.

He commented that, despite the fact that climate change cannot be avoided, the Amazonian leadership must be placed as one of the main focuses of these international events.

“We have a territorial responsibility on a key issue,” he said.

He said that any ecosystem is fundamental, “but there are four great climatic pillars: the Poles, the Taiga and the Tundra of northern Siberia and Canada, the Oceans and the Amazon Rainforest.”

For the president of Colombia, “if we take the initiative to reverse the damage in these decades we can give humanity a victory in terms of the fight against climate change.”

USA, the country that pollutes the most in America

Petro spoke about the effects of pollution emitted by the United States on the Continent. “If we look at it, America has the country that pollutes the most in terms of CO2 emissions, and to the south is the Amazon rainforest, the sponge that absorbs the most CO2 on the American continent.”

In order to implement the revitalization of the Amazon rainforest, Petro considered it necessary to establish talks on the subject with the United States.

“It’s time for a dialogue. It is time for the United States, the main CO2 polluter, and South America, holder of one of the main CO2 sponges, to talk, to agree. Let’s build a joint road.”

Surinam

The President of Suriname, Chan Santokhi, also welcomed President Petro’s initiative, and ratified his country’s willingness and commitment to recover and preserve the Amazon.

“We are happy with this initiative and we are going to support the decisions that have to be taken to save the Amazon,” Santokhi said.

He pointed out that the Amazonian territory corresponding to his country is partly affected and destroyed by the recent and unusual fires.

He indicated that he hopes to know the evaluations made by the experts and the expectations they have about the area.

The Amazon rainforest extends through Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (France).