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Sunak's pledge in a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva at 10 Downing Street follows a similar commitment
by U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this year, joining previous
donors Norway and Germany.
"There are so many interests we have in common," Sunak told Lula
at the meeting, mentioning higher trade and the fight against
climate change. "I'm delighted to announce we will be investing
in your Amazon Fund and I pay tribute to your leadership in this
initiative."
The prime minister later wrote on Twitter that Britain would
donate 80 million pounds.
Lula thanked Sunak and said it was time to "normalize" relations
between the United Kingdom and Brazil, adding that "much more
can be done in terms of trade."
He again stated that countries with large forests need support -
especially from developed nations - to protect them, while
reaffirming Brazil's commitment to zero deforestation by 2030.
First launched in 2009, the fund works to combat deforestation
in the Amazon rainforest and spur sustainable development. It
was reactivated by Lula this year after his predecessor, Jair
Bolsonaro, froze it in 2019.
British environment secretary Therese Coffey had already told
Reuters in a January interview after Lula's inauguration that
Britain was considering joining the initiative.
Biden last month announced that he would request from Congress
$500 million over five years to contribute to the fund and
related activities. France and Spain have shown interest in
contributing, according to Brazil.
($1 = 0.7909 pounds)
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo and Maria Carolina
Marcello in Brasilia; Editing by Steven Grattan and Alistair
Bell)
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