Statement from Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on the Brazil Fazenda-U.S. Treasury Climate Partnership

As Prepared for Delivery 

Minister Haddad, it was a pleasure meeting with you earlier this week, and I am very glad that we are jointly announcing the launch of the Brazil Fazenda-U.S. Treasury Climate Partnership today.

This announcement draws on our two countries’ long history.  There are deep ties between the United States and Brazil, including a strong trade and investment relationship.  Our countries also share a commitment to sustainable and inclusive development, recognizing that, as the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere, advancing work on climate and on nature and biodiversity can bring benefits not only to both of our economies but also to the region and to the global economy.

Today’s announcement also builds on significant efforts of teams at Treasury and Fazenda in recent years.  Since the start of the Biden Administration, we have worked to increase collaboration with Brazil on shared priorities related to climate and the environment.  Brazil has put these issues at the top of the agenda for its G20 Presidency, and we have together pursued ambitious work, including through the multilateral development banks and climate funds.  We are also strengthening coordination to disrupt illicit finance from nature crimes.  This spring, we further deepened our commitment to collaboration in the aftermath of the unprecedented flooding in Rio Grande do Sul [“HEE-oh GRAN-jee do SU”].  It was one of far too many recent tragedies that reveals the grave threat that climate change and the loss of nature and biodiversity poses to lives, livelihoods, and economies around the world.

Our new partnership also builds on work we have each been pursuing.  In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are making our infrastructure more resilient, supporting investments in conservation, and driving growth in clean energy industries.  Treasury is leading the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and pursuing many other actions, including launching the Principles for Net-Zero Financing and Investment last fall and the Principles for Responsible Participation in Voluntary Carbon Markets, with other U.S. federal agencies, this spring.

Brazil is meanwhile pursuing a wide range of policies and investments that showcase how an emerging market can conserve natural resources, protect biodiversity, adapt to a changing climate, and build clean manufacturing.  Fazenda, like Treasury, is playing a leading role at home, including in implementing Brazil’s Ecological Transformation Plan, from designing innovative green investment platforms to launching new carbon market designs.

Our long history, recent joint work, and complementary agendas mean we see much to gain from additional coordinated and collaborative action.  With this partnership, we now plan to work together bilaterally and multilaterally to address today’s most pressing environmental challenges and strengthen the region’s green economy.

Our work will be focused in four key areas.

First, we intend to work to bolster our clean energy supply chains, including by developing policy tools that crowd in private sector investment.

Second, we intend to support efforts to improve the integrity and effectiveness of voluntary carbon markets, including through holding technical exchanges.

Third, we intend to work to mobilize finance and develop innovative solutions to conserve and restore nature and biodiversity, including through the multilateral development banks and multilateral climate funds.

And fourth, we are committed to joint work to facilitate countries’ ease of access to multilateral climate fund resources by working to simplify and harmonize process, increase ambition, and mobilize private finance.

Across these and other areas, we will benefit from each other’s leadership and expertise.  So let me thank Minister Haddad for our ongoing and future collaboration.  I look forward to the joint work ahead.

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