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Biden to stress climate action in first visit by sitting U.S. president to Amazon Rainforest
Washington — President Biden is set to deliver remarks on climate conservation in Manaus, Brazil, on Sunday during a visit to the Amazon rainforest that marks the first such trip by any sitting U.S. president in history.
Mr. Biden has made addressing climate change a key part of his policy agenda, approving legislation that reduces emissions, while setting the country on a path toward a transition to green energy. With the visit Sunday, the president is set to highlight his commitment to combatting global deforestation and conserving forests as part of what the White House calls Mr. Biden’s “historic climate legacy.”
The president is set to announce during the visit that the U.S. has reached its goal of increasing its climate finance to over $11 billion a year, up from $1.5 billion when Mr. Biden took office. He will also designate Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day, while the administration announces new conservation efforts including $50 million for the Amazon Fund, among other initiatives.
Mr. Biden is set to meet local and Indigenous leaders, take an aerial tour of the Amazon rainforest and tour a local museum, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit with world leaders. The trip comes after the president has been attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru in recent days, where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
The historic visit comes as climate advocates have warned of the environmental consequences of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to rollback the Biden administration’s efforts to combat climate change.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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