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Fire in the Amazon: Brazil's Ministry of the Environment is supposed to protect the rainforest.
Bolsonaro has cut its budget massively
Photo: Xinhua / dpa
Brazil's head of state Jair Bolsonaro has cut the state budget for environmental protection by almost a quarter - just one day after he vowed at the climate summit organized by US President Joe Biden that he would double spending on environmental protection and end illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030 .
Less than 24 hours after his speech at the climate summit, Bolsonaro signed the federal budget for 2021, according to an official Brazilian gazette. For the environment ministry, 24 percent fewer expenditures were approved compared to the previous year.
According to the Official Gazette, Bolsonaro vetoed a list of environmental household expenditures - including environmental enforcement costs.
The chairman of the Environment Commission in Congress Rodrigo Agostinho warned that after years of savings, the environmental authorities are now threatened with complete paralysis.
The government did not answer any further questions about Bolsonaro's pledge to increase environmental spending.
clh / Reuters