Overview
- After returning to Berlin, Merz said none of the journalists with him wanted to stay in Belém and that they were glad to leave "that place."
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rebuked the comment, and Pará Governor Helder Barbalho and Belém Mayor Igor Normando denounced it as prejudiced.
- A chancellery spokesperson told AFP Merz regretted having too little time to experience the Amazon and voiced respect for hosting COP30 in Belém.
- Germany is a major Amazon Fund donor, and on Nov. 7 Merz pledged a "considerable" contribution to the proposed Tropical Forests Forever Fund.
- At COP30, German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider praised Brazil’s hospitality, highlighting a contrast in tone within the delegation.