U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited the mouth of the Amazon River on Saturday to promote the idea that fighting climate change will boost economic growth in the region and around the world.
Speaking in Belem, Brazil, after meeting finance ministers from the Amazon region, Yellen said the necessary transition to reduce carbon emissions was “the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century”.
Yellen said $3 trillion in annual investment would be needed by 2050, which “can be used to support the path to sustainable and inclusive growth, including in countries that have historically underinvested.”
The event was organized by the Inter-American Development Bank as part of its “Amazonia Forever” initiative, which aims to support carbon reduction, wildlife conservation and biodiversity while protecting jobs and economic activity in eight South American countries.
The effort is also part of a shift that Yellen is pushing for global development banks to take on multi-country projects, as the World Bank and its regional counterparts have traditionally focused on single-country development work.
Earlier in the day, Yellen announced the launch of the Amazon Illicit Finance Initiative, a program aimed at preventing the financing of criminal activity that harms the Amazon environment and wildlife.
In the Amazon region, deforestation is becoming more serious due to agricultural expansion and logging, threatening the region’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Known as the gateway to the Amazon, Belém is set to host the United Nations’ annual climate change conference, known as COP30, in 2025.
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