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Quilombolas and Indigenous Peoples ask the EU for more protection; USA prepares sanctions against Brazilian deforesters

Indigenous leaderships visit Europe to demand aid in the protection of biomes

Credit: Apib

23 Nov 22

Quilombolas and Indigenous Peoples ask the EU for more protection; USA prepares sanctions against Brazilian deforesters

Quilombola [Afro-Brazilian traditional communities] and Indigenous organizations have asked the European Parliament that forest protection should be extended to all Brazilian biomes in the new European Union legislation that regulates imports. It would be possible to increase the level of protection for the Cerrado from 26% to 82%, for the Pantanal from 23% to 42% and for the Caatinga from 10% to 93%.

The National Coordination of Articulation of Rural Black and Quilombola Communities (CONAQ) and the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Network (Apib) delivered a report demanding the inclusion of a ban on illegal deforestation for all Brazilian biomes as a prerogative for commodity purchases by European countries, in the proposal known as the Forest and Ecosystem-Risk Commodities (FERC) Import Bill, which may have its final text voted in the European Parliament soon.

Meanwhile, the United States should apply penalties to environmental criminals who contribute to the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. The initiative would represent a change in the US strategy to fight climate change with more severe actions, such as the application of sanctions based on the Magnitsky Act – which would freeze offenders’ assets and prevent all Americans and companies in the country from dealing with sanctioned individuals or entities.

The international sanctions are a direct consequence of the environmental policies of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has reversed environmental protection measures and pushed for more mining and commercial agriculture in the Amazon, resulting in the highest deforestation spike in Brazil in 15 years.

 

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Norway says it will resume Amazon protection fund payments if Bolsonaro is not re-elected

Norway already donated R$ 3.4 billion to Brazil

Credit: Felipe Werneck/Ibama

22 Jun 22

Norway says it will resume Amazon protection fund payments if Bolsonaro is not re-elected

In an interview for Reuters, Norway’s Climate and Environment Minister, Espen Barth Eide, said the country is willing to resume donations to the Amazon Fund if there is a change of government in the October elections in Brazil. “If it is as the polls show and there is a change [of government] in Brazil, we have high hopes that we can quickly resume a good and active partnership,” he said.

The fund, managed by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), is intended for actions to prevent and combat deforestation in the biome and has Norway as the main donor, in addition to having Germany as a contributor. In August 2019, the two countries interrupted the donations after a series of public attacks by the then Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, against the fund added to the increasing rates of deforestation in the Amazon.

 

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International funds for the Amazon remain stalled after Salles’ exit

Ambassadors are concerned with Brazilian public policies for the environment

Credit: Ibama/via Fotos Públicas

10 Jul 21

International funds for the Amazon remain stalled after Salles’ exit

Even with the end of the disastrous tenure of Ricardo Salles at the head of the Ministry of Environment, ambassadors from the European Union, Norway, and the United Kingdom remain concerned about the Brazilian environmental policy.

According to Folha de S. Paulo, the representatives “have not yet seen concrete gestures by the Brazilian government to contain deforestation” in the country, which could hit new all time highs in 2021, and also show concern with the agribusinnes agendas circulating in the National Congress, with proposals that menace indigenous lands, like PL 490/2007, and weaken environmental licensing, such as PL 3729/2004.

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Organizations send open letter to the European Union opposing the EU-Mercosur treaty

Treaty could increase deforestation in Brazil

Credit: Christian Braga/Greenpeace

26 Feb 21

Organizations send open letter to the European Union opposing the EU-Mercosur treaty

A Brazilian Civil Society Organizations Front against the Mercosur-EU Agreement, composed by over 100 organizations, sent an open letter to the president of the Council of the European Union, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, and to the ambassadors of the European Union and Portugal in Brazil, Ignácio Ybáñez and Luís Faro Ramos, in which they point out the social and environmental damage that Brazil may suffer if the European Union ratifies the treaty.

They state that the agreement has a “neocolonial characteristic” and stimulates “three important factors of deforestation” in the country, by stimulating the increase in the production of agricultural and mineral commodities and encouraging the expansion of the use of logistic equipment.

“We understand that this Agreement, besides contributing to an escalation of human and social and environmental rights violations, could block Brazil’s development. Therefore, we appeal to the good sense of the international community in order to prevent its ratification.”

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France's largest bank will stop financing companies linked to deforestation in the Amazon

Photo of the Indigenous Land Cachoeira Seca, in Pará state, deforested by land grabbers and loggers

Credit: Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace

15 Feb 21

France’s largest bank will stop financing companies linked to deforestation in the Amazon

BNP Paribas, the largest French bank, has announced that it will no longer finance companies that buy cattle or soy produced in the Amazon on land that was deforested after 2008. The promise also applies to grain or beef from the Brazilian Cerrado biome. The institution informed that it will only finance companies that commit to zero deforestation by 2025, according to the Reuters news agency.

The BNP’s stance is in line with the French government’s tightening siege on Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policy, as exemplified by president Emmanuel Macron’s recent threat to discontinue the importation of Brazilian soybeans.

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After promise to stop funding fossil fuel, UK plans to explore oil and gas production in Brazil

Environmentalists say that country reliability might be affected

Credit: Number 10/via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

6 Feb 21

After promise to stop funding fossil fuel, UK plans to explore oil and gas production in Brazil

Host of COP 26, that will happen in November, the United Kingdom announced last year that investment in overseas oil, gas or coal export or production projects would be brought into a halt until the conference date. However, a survey by the SourceMaterial group revealed that the country, through the state-owned credit agency UK Export Finance, is considering supporting 17 fossil fuel projects that could be completed by July, including in Brazil, The Telegraph reported. “In recent years, the UK government has already used billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fund fossil fuel projects around the world. It would make no sense to rush to hand out a few more million just before these subsidies are banned and before a major climate summit,” said John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK.

According to the article, one of the Brazilian developments that may receive support from the UK will produce over 2 million tons of CO2 per year in its construction and operation alone. The information was also echoed in the daily bulletin of the ClimaInfo portal, dedicated to climate change.

 

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Former Environment Ministers ask european countries aid to mitigate health collapse on the Amazon

Former ministers demand protection of “forest guardians”

Credit: Marcio James/Amazônia Real

27 Jan 21

Former Environment Ministers ask european countries aid to mitigate health collapse on the Amazon

Nine former Environment Ministers sent, on 26th, a letter to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and to the prime ministers of Germany, Angela Merkel, and Norway, Erna Solber, asking for “solidarity and collaboration” for the “solution of the Amazonian problems”. Signed by Izabella Teixeira, Marina Silva, Carlos Minc, Edson Duarte, José Sarney Filho, José Goldemberg, Rubens Ricupero, Gustavo Krause and José Carlos Carvalho, the document addresses the high rates of deforestation and burning registered in the Amazon in 2020 – which aggravated the respiratory problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – in addition to mentioning the imminent collapse of the region’s health system, which had its peak with the lack of oxygen in hospitals in Manaus, capital of Amazonas.

By presenting the Amazon as “especially vulnerable to the pandemic due to isolation, poverty, precarious health structure, and difficult access”, the former ministers appealed for help to the local population through the donation of oxygen cylinders, stretchers, oximeters, medical oxygen production plants, among other equipment. “Knowing closely the reality of the Amazon, the signatories of this letter, former ministers of the environment of Brazil, know from experience that neither the federal government nor the local governments have all the indispensable means to help the most fragile and vulnerable populations of the region”, says the text.

Recently, the French president threatened to suspend the import of Brazilian soy. Germany and Norway, major donors to the Amazon Fund, announced that they will only resume investments if Brazil shows effective efforts to fight deforestation in the region.

The request for help from former ministers to European leaders happened on the eve of Hamilton Mourão’s declaration at the World Economic Forum, in which he criticized the low “international financial and technical cooperation” for the protection of the Amazon, according to a story by Jamil Chad for UOL. At the meeting, Mourão announced that Brazil has resumed negotiations with Germany and Norway to send resources to the country.

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International Biodiversity summit happens without Brazil and criticizes commodities from deforested areas

50 countries participated in the summit

Credit: Reproduction/Twitter via One Planet Summit

14 Jan 21

International Biodiversity summit happens without Brazil and criticizes commodities from deforested areas

Led by France President Emmanuel Macron, the One Planet Summit brought together, on January 11th, heads of states, entrepreneurs and representatives of NGOs to expand a global alliance dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity – without the participation of Brazil. The organization claims an invitation had been sent but the Foreign Relations Ministry says that the country was not invited- neither to the event nor to join the alliance.

The devastation of the Amazon, a target of recurrent criticism from Macron, was debated and the group took the opportunity to reinforce their intention of closing the market for traders who are unable to secure deforestation-free products. By June, Europe will have “the first law to put an end to deforestation imports,” said Pascal Canfin, president of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, according to a story by Jamil Chade for UOL.

The day after the meeting, the French president pointed his finger at the imports of Brazilian soy. “To continue depending on Brazilian soy is to endorse the deforestation of the Amazon. We are consistent with our ecological ambitions, we are fighting to produce soy in Europe!”, he said in a Twitter post. In yet another public exchange of splinters, Jair Bolsonaro responded with disdain: “For God’s sake, “Mister” Macron, ‘don’t buy soy from Brazil because then you won’t deforest the Amazon, buy soy from France. France produces 20% of what the city of Sorriso produces here in Mato Grosso [state]. You keep talking nonsense there, oh, Mister Macron, you don’t even know your country and you’re trying to tell what we need to do here in Brazil,” declared the president in his weekly live broadcast via social networks, as reported by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply stated that Macron’s declaration denotes “complete ignorance about the cultivation process of the product imported by the French”.

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EU Parliament members criticize proposal to control NGOs in the Amazon in letter to Brazil's VP

VP denies knowing about decree to curb civil society action

Credit: Isac Nóbrega/PR/via CC BY 2.0

27 Nov 20

EU Parliament members criticize proposal to control NGOs in the Amazon in letter to Brazil’s VP

“While the Amazon is burning at record speed, limiting the operations of environmental and social groups and organizations can have devastating consequences,” says the letter sent by European Parliament members to Vice President Hamilton Mourão and to the Amazon Council, spearheaded by the VP, as reported by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. The criticism was motivated by the information, publicized by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo weeks before, that the Amazonian Council plans, through a new regulatory framework, to have total control over the actions of non-governmental organizations in the Amazon until 2022.

Among the signatories is Anna Cavazzini, vice-president of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Brazil. The criticism voices the European Union’s concern about the devastation of the forest, which could halt the trade agreement with Mercosur, signed in 2019.

The document defends cooperation between government and organized civil society and reiterates the positive aspects of NGOs’ actions for Brazilian environmental policy: “NGOs are not there to replace the government, but to complement its actions – and, crucially, to help make public policies more transparent and effective through free criticism”.

However, “free criticism” of Brazilian environmental policy has been a target of attacks by the federal government. In another attempt to curtail it, the Minister of the Environment Ricardo Salles has filed four judicial interpellations, through the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU), against his critics – the targets are Márcio Astrini, coordinator of the Climate Observatory, journalists André Borges (O Estado de S. Paulo) and Cedê Silva (O Antagonista), as well as the scientist Antonio Donato Nobre, researcher of the Earth System Science Center of the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe). 

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EU asks for changes in Mercosur environmental policies to ratify trade agreement

Brasil was mentioned as an example of bad policies

Credit: Jorisvo/iStock

7 Oct 20

EU asks for changes in Mercosur environmental policies to ratify trade agreement

The European Parliament approved an amendment in a report about the application of the continent’s trade agreement reinforcing the need for changes in the environmental policies of the Mercosur countries – in particular, Brazil – in order for the treaty with the European Union to materialize.

The first version of the report, proposed by French deputies, named Bolsonaro’s policies. Although his name was deleted in the final report,  the text reflects the growing tension  between France and Brazil around the environmental agenda. The group of parliamentarians expressed “ deep concern about the environmental policy of Jair Bolsonaro, which is incompatible with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement, namely to fight global warming and protect biodiversity”, according to newspaper Valor Econômico. In its analysis, the newspaper said that although the amendment has no veto power, in practical terms, “the need for additional guarantees by the Bolsonaro government in the environmental area will be essential for Europeans to move to ratify or not the bi-regional agreement.“ In September, Vice President Hamilton Mourão received a letter signed by ambassadors from eight European countries – Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Belgium – that criticizes the government’s environmental policy and signals the departure of investors and companies from Brazil in response to the environmental crisis.

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Brazilian environmental crisis puts EU-Mercosur agreement under threat

Tensão em torno do acordo já estava presente na última reunião do G20, em 2019.

Crédito: Marcos Corrêa/PR/Via Agência Brasil

18 Sep 20

Brazilian environmental crisis puts EU-Mercosur agreement under threat

The rumours that European countries would block the EU-Mercosur trade agreement due to the Brazilian environmental crisis were getting steam among european diplomats in June 2020 according to reports from El País. By late August, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had “considerable doubts”  about her support for the agreement because of the rise in Amazon deforestation. 

In September, while Brazil broke new records on forest fires and deforestation rates, the trade agreement was once again threatened, and pressure from corporations and investment funds over the Brazilian government also increased.

On the 09th, an international team of researchers from universities of Oxford (UK), Louvain (Belgium) and Columbia (USA) published a critical analysis of the EU-Mercosur agreement saying that the text of the deal does not secure mechanisms for transparency, sanction and inclusion of local communities, going against environmental regulations from the European Union. The study indicates that the agreement fails to guarantee sustainable chains of production. In that same week, the International Trade Commission from the European Parliament issued a motion demanding more protection rules on the block trade agreements, in yet another sign of the obstacles to ratifying the treaty. 

A week later, on September 15th, two significant open letters tried to exert pressure on the Brazilian government. VP Hamilton Mourao received a document signed by ambassadors from 8 European nations — Germany, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Belgium — with a clear message: “Brazil is making it harder and harder for corporations and investors to comply with their environmental, social and governance criteria”. The countries who sent the letter take part in the Amsterdam Declaration, a partnership among nations to promote sustainable chains of production that prevent forest destruction.

In the other letter, a coalition formed by 230 organizations and companies linked to agribusiness and environment published a set of six proposals to stop Amazon deforestation. The document was sent to president Bolsonaro, VP Mourão, Federal Ministers, leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, and embassies and members of the European Parliament. “Not only because of the social-environmental losses, but also because of the threats that forest destruction poses to the national economy. There is a clear and growing concern about deforestation from several sectors of national and international society”,  states the letter signed by the Coalition, which includes NGOs such as WWF and agribusiness companies such as JBS, Marfrig, Basf and Bayer. 

Meanwhile, in France, over 20 civil society organizations issued a statement on the 16th demanding the “final burial” of the EU-Mercosur treaty because of the “disastrous impacts” on forests, climate and human rights. The NGOs manifest came out on the eve of a technical report commissioned by the French government on the effects of the commercial agreement. 

On the 18th,  the French government report was published.  According to reports on the 184 page-study by independent experts on economy and the environment, it concludes that “the agreement is a missed opportunity by the EU to use its negotiation power to obtain solid safeguards that respond to the environmental, sanitary and social expectations of its citizens”. The experts estimate that deforestation in Mercosur countries could accelerate by 5% per year due to higher demand for beef in the EU,  increasing greenhouse gas emissions and questioning whether the relative financial gains of the agreement could compensate for the climate damage it would generate. 

Upon the release of the study, president Emmanuel Macron’s government confirmed it will maintain opposition to the treaty as it stands, a position they have been sustaining since 2019, and that it is willing to renegotiate the terms of the accord to secure the Paris Agreement climate objectives.

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Sanitary authorities review ban on Paraquat, one of the most lethal agrochemicals in the world

Brazil’s Sanitary Agency, Anvisa, might review ban on herbicide

Credits: Ascom/Anvisa

18 Aug 20

Sanitary authorities review ban on Paraquat, one of the most lethal agrochemicals in the world

An ordinance by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), from September, 2017, which banned the use of the herbicide Paraquat, is under review by the agency. The prohibition of Syngenta’s agrochemical was because of evidence that confirms that its use generates genetic mutation and Parkinson’s disease in the workers who have direct contact with it. The prohibition was scheduled to become effective on September, 22, 2020.

However, the sanitary agency had a board meeting on August 18th and the review of the ban was on the agendas. According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Rômison Mota, rapporteur of the process, voted against the review of the ban deadline, since there was no justifiable reason. Anvisa might discuss the topic again at the next meeting.

In a comprehensive article about the subject, the NGO Repórter Brasil claimed the agency operated with a lack of transparency, since the documents about the meeting weren’t disclosed.

Landowners associations are trying to prove that the paraquat is safe, but there isn’t evidence to support that claim. The agrochemical has already been forbidden in Europe and China. According to Repórter Brasil’s article, the major argument supporting the safety of the agrochemical are two incomplete researches. The Ethics Committee of the Campinas State University (Unicamp) suspended one of them after the NGO pointed out the study as a key-piece of the agribusiness companies campaign to allow the use of Paraquat.

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Bolsonaro denies deforestation and blames indigenous and traditional communities for forest fires

The president said that “the indigenous, the native, the caboclo, the river-dweller constantly do that kind of thing”, referring to forest fires

Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil/via CC

16 Jul 20

Bolsonaro denies deforestation and blames indigenous and traditional communities for forest fires

During his weekly social media broadcast, president Bolsonaro once again said that the claims about his government not protecting the environment are “unfair” and that they are part of a “commercial struggle” that aims at jeopardizing Brazil agribusiness, calling Europe an “environmental cult”. He also blamed Brazilian indigenous people and traditional communities for provoking forest fires: “indigenous people, river dwellers, native Brazilians, caboclos, they constantly do that kind of thing.” Bolsonaro used fake information to defend himself, stating that under his administration forest fires and hotspots are at an all-time low.

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Macron and Bolsonaro clash over Amazon fires

22/09/2019

Crédito: Twitter

26 Aug 19

Macron and Bolsonaro clash over Amazon fires

Reacting to the trending coverage on forest fires, on the 22nd, French President Emannuel Macron used Twitter  to convene G7 country members  to discuss Amazon destruction, which he labelled as an “international crisis”. On the eve  of the G7 Summit  in Biarritz, he  posted that the forest produces 20%  of the global oxygen, along with a picture from 2003 and an inaccurate depiction of the Amazon as “lungs  of the world”. Macron’s comment came after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres tweeted about his deep concerns with the forest fires. “The Amazon needs to be protected,” he wrote.

 

President Bolsonaro didn’t like Macron’s comments and used social media to reply on the same day. He accused the French President of meddling with an internal Brazilian issue, criticised the “sensationalist” tone of his post and the use of a ‘fake’ picture.

 

On the 23rd, Macron charged again and called Bolsonaro a ‘liar’ for not living up to the environmental compromises assumed at the Osaka  G20 summit in June. The French government said that, under such conditions, the ratification of Mercosul – EU trade deal could be off the table. President Bolsonaro once again replied on Twitter: “I’m sorry for the position of Chief of State calling another  president a liar. It was not us that published pictures from last century to fuel hate against  Brazil for sheer vanity. Our yellow and green country lives in hearts around the world”.

 

On the 24th, already at the G7 summit, Macron posted a video on social media saying he would like the meeting to respond to the crisis of the forest fires in the Amazon. ” The Amazon is our common good. We are all worried”.  Right after the publication, the Brazilian Presidency Press Secretary shared on Macron’s profile the video of the official announcement made earlier by president Bolsonaro on radio and TV. When listing measures to fight the fires in the Amazon, Bolsonaro stressed Brazil’s sovereignty on the issue. “Forest fires happen  all over the world and this can not be used  as a pretext for potential international sanctions,” he declared. 

 

Later that day, the provocations escalated when Bolsonaro commented on a picture posted by a follower that ironically compared Macron’s  and Bolsonaro’s wives based on their age and looks, implying that Macron would be ‘jealous’ of the Brazilian president because he  is married to a younger woman and thus attacking Brazil using forest fires. French and Brazilian feminist movements reacted.

 

On the 25th, the G7 announced its immediate support to fight Amazon fires in Brazil and other South American countries. When learning that German chancellor Angela Merkel would call him to clarify the G7 support, Bolsonaro claimed ‘victory’ against  Macron’s so called  ‘crisis’.

 

On the 26th,  during a press  conference, French president Macron rebuked the comment about his wife, classifying Bolsonaro as someone who is “extremely disrespectful”, adding that he believes that Brazilian women feel shame when reading such comments from their president. “With great friendship and respect for the Brazilian people, I hope that they will soon have a president that can  live up to the job,” he said. 

 

On twitter, Bolsonaro wrote that Brazil can not accept “unreasonable and gratuitous attacks to the Amazon” from  Macron, even if such attacks are undercovered  as an alliance of G7 countries to save the Amazon as if we were a colony or no one’s land”.

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262 agrochemicals approved by Bolsonaro’s administration

Government is releasing agrochemicals at an unprecedented pace

Credit: Fernando Frazão/ Agência Brasil/via Fotos Públicas

31 Jul 19

262 agrochemicals approved by Bolsonaro’s administration

Since taking office in January, Bolsonaro’s administration accelerated the  release of 262 new pesticides and  agrochemicals, an unprecedented pace. Approximately ⅓ of the approved products contain  substances forbidden by the European Union, including Acephate and Atrazine which have been banned from the EU for more than 15 years.

The government also changed the classificatory system used for toxicity, now adopting one called GHS, which NGOs and experts say is weaker than current standards used in Brazil. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published the new regulatory framework for the assessment of the risk of pesticides. The measure changes the way packaging presents the risks of using products.

The institution says that the criterion follows an “international” standard but admits that very toxic products may have a “softer” classification. As there are now six categories, instead of four, it will be more difficult for a product to be classified as “extremely toxic”. The packages will feature fewer images of “skulls” and more informative texts. Entities criticize the measure, saying that it may bring more risk to rural workers with low literacy.

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Macron holds approval of EU-Mercosul treaty

França quer que Brasil reconheça Acordo de Paris

Crédito: World Economic Forum/Sikarin Thanachaiary/via CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

2 Jul 19

Macron holds approval of EU-Mercosul treaty

After generally  accepting the terms for the EU-Mercosul trade agreement, the French government warned that it will still be a long process until the national Parliament ratifies the treaty. At the G20 summit In Osaka, president Macron said that their demands had been included  in the document – such as  explicit recognition from Brazil of the Paris Agreement, respect to environmental norms and regulations and safeguards to French farmers. However, speaking directly about Bolsonaro, French officials and deputies  made clear that the agreement will only come to life if the Brazilian government lives up to the commitments.

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INPE shows that deforestation is rising

Bolsonaro’s policies led to growth of deforestation

Crédito: Domínio público/via CC 1.0

1 Jul 19

INPE shows that deforestation is rising

Updated information from INPE showed the Amazon lost 762,3km2 of forests in June, 60% more than in the same period in the previous year. It is the worst monthly record since 2016. In June 2018, 488 km2 were deforested. The numbers were published after strong international pressure at the recent G20 meeting in Japan (where the signing of the EU- Mercosul agreement was also focused  on environmental criteria) and heavy criticism by the Minister of the Environment  about the credibility and quality of INPE’s work. According to Observatorio do Clima, 99% of the deforestation in 2019 was illegal.

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Bolsonaro confronts Merkel

Bolsonaro among Mercosur and EU leaders at G20 meeting in Japan

Alan Santos/PR/Wikimedia Commons/via CC BY 2.0

28 Jun 19

Bolsonaro confronts Merkel

Upon arriving at the G20 summit in Osaka, president Bolsonaro gave interviews to criticise the declarations made  the day before by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Germany has a lot to learn with Brazil about the environment,” he said, adding that the Brazilian Government was not going to accept warnings by any country. Visibly irritated, he criticized the press coverage on the issue and declared that Brazil “will no longer accept to be treated or warned by developed countries like some of our predecessors did”. 

The public debate with Merkel  happened on the eve of the signature of the trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, which happened at the G20 on the 28th.  The agreement for the trade deal took more than 20 years, marking a historic moment between the two blocks of countries that, together, represent around 25% of the global GDP and  house 780 million people. The text of the agreement, which has yet to be ratified by national governments, establishes social and environmental compensations to both parties as detailed in the “Sustainable Development ” chapter. The main item on this chapter is the permanence and defense of the Paris Agreement, as well as respect for labour laws and indigenous rights.

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Merkel wants to talk to Bolsonaro about preservation

Chancellor said that the human rights situation in Brazil is “dramatic”

Crédito: Russian Presidential Executive Office/Wikimedia Commons/via CC BY 4.0

26 Jun 19

Merkel wants to talk to Bolsonaro about preservation

On the eve of the G20, German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to the German Parliament and said that she hoped to have an opportunity to talk directly to president Bolsonaro about deforestation in Brazil at the summit in Osaka. Calling the human rights situation in Brazil “dramatic”, Merkel’s address was seen as a response to the NGO letter sent in the previous week questioning the Mercosul – European Union trade agreement and demanding stronger measures to curb deforestation and to implement the Paris Agreement. 

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340 international organizations sign open letter against Mercosul-EU treaty

Organizations expressed rejection to Bolsonaro’s policies

Marcos Corrêa/PR/via CC BY 2.0

19 Jun 19

340 international organizations sign open letter against Mercosul-EU treaty

More than 340 international organizations signed an open letter asking the European Union to immediately halt trade negotiations with Brazil. The request came amid talks to a free-trade agreement between the Mercosul and the European Union – which has been in the making for over two decades. Addressed to the presidents of the European Commission, Council and  Parliament, the document states  that “since the beginning of Bolsonaro’s government…we have been witnessing the increase of human rights violations, attacks against  minorities, indigenous populations, traditional communities and  LGBTQ people”. Other demands listed on the letter were guarantees that Brazilian products imported into Europe were not involved with deforestation, land grabbing and human rights violations; stronger commitment from Brazil towards implementing the Paris Agreement; supporting Brazilian NGOs that defend democracy  and human rights,  monitoring human rights violations and providing investigation and support to people under threat. 

Sources:

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