FRANCE, UN FOCUS ON AMAZON FIRES
UN, Macron, Johnson, Merkel show deep concern
BIARRITZ, FRANCE: Paris and the United Nations called on Thursday for the protection of the fire-plagued Amazon rainforest as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of having a “colonialist mentality” over the issue. Figures show nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first 8 months of 2019 -- the highest number for any year since 2013. Most were in the Amazon. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned”. Bolsonaro attributed the fires to increased drought, and had earlier briefly accused environmental groups and NGOs of whipping up an “environmental psychosis” to harm Brazil’s economic interests.
BIARRITZ, FRANCE: Paris and the United Nations called for the protection of the fire-plagued Amazon rainforest as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of having a “colonialist mentality” over the issue.
Figures show nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year - the highest number for any year since 2013. Most were in the Amazon.
The extent of the area damaged by fires has yet to be determined, but smoke has choked Sao Paulo and several other Brazilian cities in the past week.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” by the fires.
“In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity,” he said on Twitter.
“The Amazon must be protected.” Macron said the wildfires were “an international crisis” and called on the globe’s most industrialised nations to address it at their summit this weekend.
“Our house is on fire. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet which produces 20% of our oxygen is burning,” Macron said on Twitter. “It is an international crisis. Members of the G7, let’s talk in two days about this emergency.”
That did not sit well with Bolsonaro. “The French president’s suggestion that Amazon issues be discussed at the G7 without participation by the countries in the region evokes a colonialist mentality that is out of place in the 21st century,” Bolsonaro tweeted.
Bolsonaro attributed the fires to increased drought, and had earlier briefly accused environmental groups and NGOs of whipping up an “environmental psychosis” to harm Brazil’s economic interests.
JOHNSON CONCERNED ABOUT AMAZON FIRES
LONDON: Britain is deeply concerned about fires in the Amazon rainforest and Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use the G7 summit to call for a renewed focus on protecting nature, his office said on Friday.
“The PM is concerned by the increase in fires in the Amazon rainforest and the impact of the tragic loss of these precious habitats,” said a spokeswoman.
ACUTE EMERGENCY, SAYS GERMANY
BERLIN: The fires amount to an “acute emergency” and should be discussed by world leaders at the G7 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said on Friday. “The extent of the fires in the Amazon area is shocking and threatening and not only for Brazil and the other affected countries, but also for the whole world,” said Steffen Seibert.
“When the G7 comes together, the chancellor is convinced that this acute emergency belongs on the agenda.”