MANAUS: Joe Biden on Sunday became the first sitting American president to set foot in the Amazon rainforest, as the incoming Trump administration seems poised to scale back the U.S. commitment to combating climate change. His administration announced plans last year for a $500 million contribution to the Amazon Fund, the most significant international cooperation effort to preserve the rainforest, …
If Amazonia — with 450 billion tonnes of CO2 locked in its trees and soil — were to become a consistent source, tackling the crisis would be more challenging. Climate change and deforestation have flipped a large swathe of the Amazon basin from absorbing to emitting planet-warming CO2, a transformation that could turn humanity’s greatest natural ally in the fight …
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