By Mohamad Hojeije | Writer
The Amazon is the most significant forest in the world, and Brazil is home to almost two-thirds of the rainforest deemed essential in regulating the planet’s climate. Under former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s government, environmental policies were neglected, and the lack of law enforcement in the region led to severe deforestation. The absence of new policy-making to preserve the biome, as well as poor monitoring of policies that are already in place allowed the private sectors of livestock and overall agricultural giants to attack indigenous land and generate more non-sustainable industries that led to the devastation of fauna and flora. During Bolsonaro’s government, deforestation in Brazil increased by 60%.
This resulted in tensions between Brazil and other economic blocs. The E.U. held off the 2019 trade deal with Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) due to the deficiency in environmental policies. However, Lula’s election has reignited conversations around the deal.
In his inauguration speech, Lula discussed his aim in elevating Brazil as one of the countries that most tackles climate change, and claimed that he seeks to create a more environmentally responsible state. He has already rehabilitated the Amazon Fund, a tool to raise donations for investments that aim to prevent, track, and stop deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest which was previously discontinued by Bolsonaro.
With Lula’s return, his speech, rehabilitation of the Amazon Fund, and his new team of environmental specialists, other states signal an approximation with the country that benefits not only the rainforest but economic and diplomatic ties as well. Germany has pledged more than 200 million Euros, of which more than 30 million are for the Amazon Fund. German development minister, Svenja Schulze, stated that “with the new government and the team of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the minister of environment Marina Silva, we have a great chance to protect the forest and to offer a new perspective to the people who live there.” Norway, the fund’s biggest donor, intends on providing new aid as well, and The World Bank lent Brazil $500m to achieve its climate objectives.
With Brazil’s newly elected president, environmental policy-making has been made a key pillar in the new government’s plans and rhetoric. It is clear that the Amazon rainforest is being put forth as an enormously valuable asset that ought to be not only preserved and
protected, but also benefit from as a Brazilian and world environmental treasure for research, education, and pharmaceutical development.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/germany-pledges-222-million-for-brazil-environment amazon/2023/01/30/228ad0d8-a0ba-11ed-8b47-9863fda8e494_story.html
https://www.politico.eu/article/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-amazon-team-save-rainforest/ https://www.carbonbrief.org/cropped-brazil-under-lula-cop15-reaction-eu-deforestation-law/ https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/home/