Investors worried about Amazon deforestation
The letter from investors highlighted Brazilian bills to legalise the occupation of public lands and to allow mining in indigenous territories, as well as comments by Brazil’s Environment Minister, Ricardo Salles, that the press, being distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, provided an opportunity to slash red tape. Salles spoke during a Cabinet meeting in April, a tape of which the Supreme Court released last month.
This year, with the Amazon’s so-called ‘burning season’ fast approaching, Bolsonaro put the army in charge of averting another historic year of deforestation. During May, its first month of operations in the rainforest, data showed that destruction jumped from the prior month.
Deforestation grew 22 per cent between January and May in comparison with the same period of the last year, the space monitoring agency said on June 6.
The asset managers stopped short of explicitly threatening divestment, but said they are worried that deforestation and violation of indigenous peoples’ rights could pose risks to clients and the companies in which they invest.
“Considering increasing deforestation rates in Brazil, we are concerned that companies exposed to potential deforestation in their Brazilian operations and supply chains will face increasing difficulty accessing international markets. Brazilian sovereign bonds are also likely to be deemed high risk if deforestation continues,” the letter says.