Main donor Norway may increase contributions; The country’s minister of the environment is visiting Brazil until Saturday (25) and reaffirms commitment, while adding that they Brazil in the mobilization of additional resources. Switzerland, , Spain, the UK and the US have also expressed interest in investing in the fund.

The Amazon Fund: A project that captures and invests national and international resources to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of the Amazon., the main fundraising mechanism for the environment in Brazil, has taken on even more importance in the government thanks to intense negotiations to attract new donors, initiated at COP27. At Itamaraty, more diplomats are dedicated to the climate issue after an internal restructuring that took place in January. , Switzerland, Spain and the UK are just a few of the countries that are considering ing in the coming months, after the US declared “initial for  the Amazon Fund.” Meanwhile, , which has collaborated with the initiative since 2010, also announced, in January, a new contribution to be transferred throughout 2023.

Despite the new interested countries, Norway is expected to remain the main funder of the initiative. The country was responsible for more than 90% of the donations raised up until the fund was suspended (read more below about the fund’s values) in 2019 when Jair Bolsonaro became president.

Norway’s minister of the environment Espen Barth Eide and Brazil’s minister of the environment and climate change Marina Silva at a meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023

This week, Norway’s minister of the environment Espen Barth Eide has meetings with officials in Brasilia to discuss “greater cooperation.” He met with minister Marina Silva on Wednesday (22) and reaffirmed the bilateral partnership in climate and forests, which began in 2008 with the launch of the Amazon Fund. Eide said they will Brazil in mobilizing additional resources.

During his visit to Brasilia, which is expected to last until Saturday (25), the Norwegian minister should also meet with the minister of indigenous peoples, Sonia Guajajara, the minister of justice Flávio Dino and other government authorities and representatives of indigenous peoples and civil society.

Reinforcement at Itamaraty

In addition to being considered stable and attractive by outside investors, the Amazon Fund is also the main banner of Brazilian diplomacy in international discussions on the environment. Presented as an important issue for the Lula istration, the climate agenda has become a priority at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of the nine cabinets that have a permanent chair on the Fund’s advisory committee.

“As an arm of the federal government, Itamaraty is more a reflection of the istration’s priorities and this is an istration that is prioritizing the climate agenda. As such, there was a process of restructuring, and not only in Itamaraty. A number of ministries created areas focused on the environment and climate change,” explains diplomat Daniel Machado da Fonseca, head of the Climate Action Division at Itamaraty.

On February 15, 2023, the ministers of the environment, Marina Silva, and indigenous peoples, Sônia Guajajara, spoke about the Amazon Fund’s Advisory Committee at the BNDES.

“Inside Itamaraty, the climate area, which was traditionally a division of the department of the environment, became a department in itself. So that means there are more diplomats working on it. It’s an area that has gained importance,” adds Machado da Fonseca.

Since its creation in 2008, the initiative has received R$3.4 billion in donations. The government of Norway is largely responsible for these resources, having donated 93.8% of the total sum, followed by , which ed for 5.7%, and Petrobras, which contributed 0.5%. Therefore, thanks to financial investments contracted in 2018, the fund currently has R$5.4 billion in resources, according to the BNDES balance sheet published in February.

In other words, the amount exceeds the total donated by the participating countries because, while the fund was suspended under the Bolsonaro istration, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which manages the initiative, invested the resources. As such, the fund currently has about R$ 3.6 billion available for use — R$1.8 billion of the R$5.4 billion have been already earmarked as they were approved for projects ed by the mechanism.