Amazon burning
The threat to the world’s lungs
World leaders this week united in condemning the Brazilian government for failing to tackle the wildfires sweeping across the Amazon, and for initiating policies that open the door to its commercial exploitation. French president Emmanuel Macron described the fires as an “international crisis”. “Our house is burning. Literally,” he tweeted. Some 72,000 fires – 83% more than in 2018 – have ravaged the country. Macron and the Irish PM Leo Varadkar have threatened to veto a huge EU trade deal with Brazil unless effective action is taken.
The criticism brought a furious response from Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who called the fires an “internal matter”. He accused Macron of having a “colonial mindset” and refused to accept the £18m offered by the G7 to combat the fires until Macron apologised. He has now agreed to accept it if he can control how it is spent, and has sent 44,000 troops to tackle the blaze.
What the editorials said
Full marks to the G7 for squaring up to Bolsonaro, said The Guardian. Brazil is home to one-third of the world’s rainforests, which are absolutely vital for absorbing greenhouse gases and combating climate change. The jungle’s “wanton destruction” puts the whole future of “humanity at stake”. It’s not just mankind that’s endangered, said The Observer. The Amazon is also “the most biodiverse place on the planet”. It provides a habitat for three million species, and threequarters of its plants are unique to the region. In many cases, extinction is now a real threat.
Brazil has only itself to blame for the global outcry, said O Globo (Rio de Janeiro). Since taking office at the start of this year, the president has thrown his support behind the agribusiness barons and ranchers who are happy to let the forest burn if it means more land to grow crops or graze cattle. Since his election last year, the rate of deforestation has sharply accelerated. But it’s the farming industry that will suffer if the international community acts on its threat to punish Bolsonaro for his “environmental carelessness”.