Brazil: Amazon beats deforestation record in October, despite ambitious Bolsonaro commitments

Sad record for the Brazilian Amazon.

Deforestation within the world's largest rainforest reached 877 km2 in October, a five-year record for this month of the year, official data showed on Friday.

Ironically, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his government announced ambitious climate goals at the end of COP26, announcing the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 and ratifying a global agreement against deforestation.

Contrary to these commitments, deforestation alerts recorded by the satellite system of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reached their worst level for an October since this calculation system was adopted, in 2016. The area deforested in the Brazilian Amazon in October is 5% higher than the same period in 2020.

"Signing agreements does not change the reality of forests"

Since the start of the year, deforestation, which specialists attribute mostly to illegal activities by farmers or gold miners, has reached 7,880 km2, a level practically equivalent to that of 2020 over the same period (7,890 km2). .

Figures that remain alarming for a country that is committed to preserving its ecosystems and which announced, through the voice of its president, that it would advance from 2030 to 2028 the deadline to eradicate illegal deforestation in Brazil, which is home to 60 % of the Amazon.

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“Signing agreements does not change the reality of forests.

Deforestation and fires remain out of control and violence against indigenous peoples continues to increase, ”reacted Romulo Batista, campaigner for Greenpeace Brazil, in a statement.

According to him, the government is trying to "present Brazil as a green power at COP26" even as deforestation continues to increase.

CO2 emissions increased by 9.5% in one year in Brazil

In October, the INPE also identified 11,549 fires in the Amazon, a figure much lower than that of last year at the same time (17,326), but higher than that of October 2019 (7,855).

The far-right president, favorable to the expansion of mining or agricultural activities in protected areas, is accused by environmentalists of having deprived public bodies of environmental preservation of human and financial resources.

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A report by the NGO collective Climate Observatory recently showed that CO2 emissions had increased by 9.5% in one year in Brazil in 2020, despite the pandemic.

At the same time, the world average fell by 7%.