Biden to stress climate action in first visit by sitting U.S. president to Amazon rainforest

Washington — President Biden is set to deliver remarks on climate conservation in Manaus, Brazil, on Sunday during a visit to the Amazon rainforest that marked the first such trip by any sitting U.S. president in history. 

Mr. Biden has made addressing climate change a key part of his policy agenda, approving legislation that reduces emissions, while setting the country on a path toward a transition to green energy. With the visit Sunday, the president is set to highlight his commitment to combatting global deforestation and conserving forests as part of what the White House calls Mr. Biden's "historic climate legacy."

The president is set to announce during the visit that the U.S. has reached its goal of increasing its climate finance to over $11 billion a year, up from $1.5 billion when Mr. Biden took office. He will also designate Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day, while the administration announces new conservation efforts including $50 million for the Amazon Fund, among other initiatives. 

Mr. Biden took an aerial tour of the Amazon rainforest on Sunday, and he is scheduled to meet local and Indigenous leaders and  tour a local museum, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit with world leaders. 

The trip comes after the president has been attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru in recent days, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. 

The historic visit comes as climate advocates have warned of the environmental consequences of President-elect Donald Trump's plans to rollback the Biden administration's efforts to combat climate change.