Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the government of Brazil to avoid the destruction of the Amazon forest.

The UK is concerned about deforestation in the Amazon, which is having a detrimental impact on global climate and environmental conservation goals. The Government monitors trends of forest loss across the Amazon region, including Brazil, to inform our efforts.

We have a long-established partnership with Brazil which aims to: 1) improve the capacity of governments to reduce deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results-based payments that are re-invested to protect forests, and boost livelihoods; iii) enable business and communities to grow rural economies sustainable whilst protecting forests.

The UK welcomes the commitment made by President Lula on his recent inauguration to end deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon under his mandate. We stand ready to work closely with the incoming administration in Brazil to achieve this, which the Prime Minister has discussed with President Lula.

At COP26, international donors including the UK announced support of $12 billion to assist forest nations to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. This included a UK commitment of £300 million to support efforts in the Amazon region. The UK continues to support work with indigenous communities across Brazil, who are central to forest conservation efforts, including through the launch of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Forest Tenure Pledge which aims to help indigenous people secure their land rights.