ICYMI: President Biden "Touts His Climate Legacy During Landmark Visit to Amazon Rainforest"

Yesterday, President Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest, where he met with Indigenous and other leaders, announced several new actions to promote global climate action, and underscored how the United States' climate leadership has helped accelerate global efforts to combat and reverse deforestation and deploy nature-based solutions that reduce emissions, enhance biodiversity, and build resilience to a changing climate.

This visit is one of the capstones of President Biden's climate legacy – including spearheading the most significant domestic climate and conservation action in history and leading global efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

Coverage of the trip includes:

NBC News: Biden touts his climate legacy during landmark visit to Amazon rainforest
[Peter Guo, 11/18/2024]

During a landmark visit to the Amazon rainforest on Sunday, President Joe Biden highlighted his climate legacy, declaring that no one can reverse America's green transition as President-elect Donald Trump's fossil-friendly policies loom large.

Biden is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the world's largest tropical rainforest, which plays a vital role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but is under growing threat from climate change.

NPR: Biden marks his climate legacy during Amazon visit, asserting 'nobody' can reverse it
[Asma Khalid, 11/17/2024]
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to roll back President Biden's clean energy incentives when he takes office in January. But on Sunday, Biden used a trip to the Amazon to defiantly assert that his legacy on addressing climate change could not be easily reversed.

"Some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that's underway in America, but nobody — nobody — can reverse it. Nobody," Biden said in remarks from a rainforest preserve.

The New York Times: Biden Visits Amazon, Vowing Help to Fight Climate Change
[Ana Ionova and Michael Shear, 11/17/2024] 
President Biden pledged new financial help to protect the Amazon, the planet's largest tropical rainforest, during a visit to Brazil on Sunday, making one final push to combat climate change before President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to power in January.

After an aerial tour of one of the world's most diverse ecosystems, Mr. Biden signed a proclamation declaring every Nov. 17 to be International Conservation Day and vowed that the United States would spend millions of dollars across the Amazon on restoring land, planting native tree species, supporting biodiversity efforts and increasing fertilizer efficiency programs. It was the first time a sitting American president had visited the Amazon.

CBS News: Biden says history is "watching us now" on climate as he makes first visit by sitting U.S. president to Amazon rainforest
[Kaia Hubbard, 11/17/2024] 

President Biden urged leaders to work to protect the environment on Sunday, during a visit to the Amazon rainforest that marked the first such trip by any sitting U.S. president in history, warning that "history is literally watching us now."

"Today, I'm proud to be here — the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest — to recommit to protecting the rainforests, like this one" the president said. He added that "the fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come."

Axios: Biden on Amazon visit says "nobody can reverse" clean energy progress
[Rebecca Falconer, 11/17/2024] 

President Biden, as he became the first sitting president to visit the Amazon rainforest on Sunday, touted leaving President-elect Trump the "most significant climate change law."

Why it matters: Biden appeared to acknowledge Trump's pledge to roll back some of his climate initiatives, saying: "I will leave my successor and my country with a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so. It's true, some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that's underway in America, but nobody, nobody can reverse it."

Bloomberg: Biden Tours Brazil's Amazon, Says Clean Energy Here to Stay
[Justin Sink, Travis Waldron and Jennifer A Dlouhy, 11/17/2024] 

Joe Biden announced new conservation efforts and funding as he became the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon region, touring part of a rainforest nature preserve and meeting with local environmental activists.

With his time in the White House ending in January, Biden said he's leaving President-elect Donald Trump and the US a "strong foundation to build on, if they choose to do so."