Letter to the White House

Twenty-four of the twenty-seven governors from the Brazilian states have signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden with a proposal for a partnership between Brazil, the holder of the largest forest base on the planet (including its Amazon, Pantanal, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga and Pampa biomes), and the United States, owners of the largest investment capacity in the world. It will now be forwarded to the White House by the ambassador Todd Chapman, who received it via a virtual meeting with governors representing all the regions of the country. The intention of the gesture is to encourage a new model of sustainable economy that reverses global warming and reduces inequalities.

The document is coordinated by the Governors for the Climate, led by the Centro Brasil no Clima (CBC). Biden received the letter on the eve of the Climate Summit, which he himself created and that took place on April 22-23.

“This summit reflects the importance of the subject and the leadership of Brazil is essential for us to effectively enter into the global challenges. I am very happy to receive this letter, which shows a coalition of Brazilian governors committed to what really interests them. We have to approach this subject with humility since we are a significant part of the problem. I will send this letter today to the White House to reach Joe Biden before Thursday (April 22), when we will announce important changes for the entire economy. We will see these challenges as great economic opportunities and Brazil can be the world superpower in the area of the environment. We will work together on this,” said Todd Chapman during the meeting.

Sergio Xavier, coordinator of the initiative at the CBC, believes that the governors are absolutely strategic links “to connect demands and practical solutions and who can quickly combine knowledge, public policies and investments to enable a new economy of social and environmental regeneration. Today, the Governors for the Climate coalition has taken a strategic step since its launch in 2019 under the leadership of Alfredo Sirkys (1950-2020).”

Signing the letter (which also included the participation of experts from iCS, the Brazilian Business Center for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), SOS Mata Atlântica, the Institute for Democracy and Sustainability (IDS), the Group of Economics of the Environment (GEMA), The Climate Group, the Under2 Coalition and the Tanaloa Institute, with technical contributions from the scientist Carlos Nobre and forest engineer Tasso Azevedo), were the governors from the following states:

Acre

Alagoas

Amazonas

Amapá

Bahia

Ceará

Federal District

Espírito Santo

Goiás

Maranhão

Minas Gerais

Mato Grosso