Washington, Apr 20 (EFE).- The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, assured this Thursday that his US counterpart, Joe Biden, supported the idea that indebted nations could receive relief from their public debts in exchange for implementing actions to address the climate crisis.
In statements to the press at the White House, Petro revealed that he had taken advantage of his meeting in the Oval Office with Biden to ask him to take his proposal that states can exchange public debt for climate actions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“We talked about the possibility of exchanging debt for climate action around the world, based on the special drawing rights of the IMF, the United States Government, even President Biden personally felt challenged by that proposal,” said Petro.
In addition, he stated that the US government said it was “very interested” in bringing that proposal to the IMF, something that would mean “a very important transformation of the world.”
Later, in a message on Twitter, the Colombian leader cited a press article in which he explained that proposal and said: “This seems to me the most important agreement with President Biden; could literally change the world. Change debt for climate action”.
One of Petro’s priorities in the meeting with Biden was to address policies to combat climate change, advance the transition to clean energy and promote rural development.
“The leaders expressed their commitment to work towards a productive and ambitious United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28),” the Colombian and US governments said in a joint statement after the meeting.
The letter also details that Biden applauded Petro’s commitment to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030, and that the two countries will try to mobilize additional international financing to protect the Amazon.
The text details some of the points that both leaders discussed, such as the fight against drug trafficking or regional integration, in addition to the aforementioned commitment to the climate.
Hours before meeting with the Colombian president, Biden asked the US Congress to approve a disbursement of 500 million dollars (455.7 million euros at current exchange rates) for the Brazilian Amazon Fund.
Petro welcomed this action by Biden and considered that together the two leaders can work towards a future in which the American continent does not depend on fossil fuels.
