Brazil Fires Drive Acceleration in Amazon Deforestation
The figures released by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which tracks forest cover by satellite, indicated that deforestation rate between August 2024 and May 2025 rose by 9.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023-2024, said AFP.
And they showed a staggering 92-percent increase in Amazon deforestation in May, compared to the year-ago period.
That development risks erasing the gains made by Brazil in 2024, when deforestation slowed in all of its ecological biomes for the first time in six years.
The report showed that beyond the Amazon, the picture was less alarming in other biomes across Brazil, host of this year's UN climate change conference.
In the Pantanal wetlands, for instance, deforestation between August 2024 and May 2025 fell by 77 percent compared to the same period in 2023-2024.
Presenting the findings, the environment ministry's executive secretary Joao Paulo Capobianco chiefly blamed the record number of fires that swept Brazil and other South American countries last year, whipped up by a severe drought.
Many of the fires were started to clear land for crops or cattle and then raged out of control.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Diplomatic spotlight falls on Global South ahead of G20 meeting
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is making final preparations to attend the big BRICS summit on Sunday and Monday in Brazil. However, his mind may well be some 5,000 miles away in his home nation, which is facing the growing challenges of hosting another major global diplomatic event — the G20 meeting. South Africa's hosting of this year's G20 should be a victory lap for Ramaphosa and his country. It is the first time the African continent has chaired the global forum, yet the process has been beset with problems, largely emanating from the US. A few weeks ago, Ramaphosa visited the White House to try to course correct relations with the Trump team. However, the meeting proved tense, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly accusing South Africa of 'white genocide,' and it is still not clear whether the US president will attend November's leadership summit, despite the fact that Washington takes over as the next G20 host. Before his meeting with Ramaphosa, Trump declared that 'South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly. The United States won't stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of the situation has been completed.' Moreover, Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 7 which claimed that an expropriation law, passed in December, enables 'the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation. This act follows countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric and government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.' Washington donated about $440 million in aid to South Africa in 2023, most of which was for healthcare programs. It is not just Trump who has berated Ramaphosa. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declined an invitation to attend a G20 foreign ministers meeting earlier this year, has declared that 'South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and climate change. My job is to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.' South Africa's hosting of this year's G20 should be a victory lap for President Cyril Ramaphosa and his country. Andrew Hammond What Trump and Rubio refer to in their denunciation is the 2024 South Africa Expropriation Act, which aims to resolve ownership inequality issues created by the pre-1994 apartheid system of white minority rule. The controversial law has drawn criticism for potentially disregarding private property rights, particularly those of the white minority, as it potentially permits state land seizures without compensation. To date, no land has been expropriated. The hostility of the Trump team to South Africa is making it much harder for Ramaphosa to host the G20, yet this is only the latest example of growing geopolitical divisions affecting the club in recent years. Tensions have long been high, too, between China and the West, and recent summits have seen significant disagreements over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which have caused diplomatic fireworks. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, G20 ministers frequently clashed diplomatically, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walking out of some meetings. Moreover, the customary group pictures of the so-called 'G20 family' have become rarer. In this context, there are significant challenges to constructive discussion taking place at the G20 this year — this despite the strong support that South Africa has received from other powers, including the EU. For instance, European Council President Antonio Costa has highlighted with Ramaphosa 'the EU's commitment to deepen ties with South Africa, as a reliable and predictable partner.' He added that the EU offers 'full support to South Africa's leadership of G20 and its ambition to strengthen multilateral cooperation and the Pact for the Future to address the most pressing global issues.' The backing of Brussels for Pretoria reflects not just its partnership with the country and the wider continent, but also the concern that Washington's absence from the G20 will only benefit Moscow and China. Yet, even if some governments, like the Trump team, have disagreements with parts of Ramaphosa's G20 agenda to address climate change and fairer finance for poorer nations, there are other items for constructive engagement. Take the example of the future of the energy agenda in Africa in which US firms have a huge stake. The danger if the US does not engage on these agendas is that it will lose a critical mass of its economic foothold in South Africa and much of the rest of the continent. All of this highlights why 2025 will be perhaps the most unpredictable G20 year ever. Amid the uncertainty, however, what is at stake is more than the future of the multilateral forum. At play are much wider questions about US international leadership in the new era.
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Arab News
BRICS nations to denounce Trump tariffs for causing economic uncertainty
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hard-line trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East. Emerging nations representing about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output are set to unite over what they see as unfair US import tariffs, according to sources familiar with summit negotiations. Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive tariffs. His latest salvo comes in the form of letters due to be sent starting Friday informing trading partners of new tariff rates expected next week on July 9. Diplomats from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have been busy drafting a statement condemning the economic uncertainty. Any final summit declaration is not expected to mention the United States or its president by name. But it is expected to be a clear political shot directed at Washington. 'We're anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,' Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio's Pontifical Catholic University said. This is particularly the case for China, which has only recently negotiated with the US to lower steep tit-for-tat levies. 'This doesn't seem to be the right time to provoke further friction' between the world's two leading economies, Fernandez said. China leader to skip annual meeting Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But the summit's political punch will be depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. 'I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi's absence,' said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank. 'The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,' said Hass. The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin. Hass said Putin's non-attendance and the fact that India's prime minister will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi's absence. 'Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,' who will receive a state lunch, he said. 'I expect Xi's decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.' Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage. In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run. No consensus on response to Gaza, Iran wars Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel is also skipping the meeting. A source familiar with the negotiations said the BRICS countries were still in disagreement over how to respond to the wars in Gaza and between Iran and Israel. Iranian negotiators are pushing for a tougher collective stance that goes beyond referencing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state and for disputes to be resolved peacefully. Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit. Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, by Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia. Analysts say that it has given the grouping more potential international punch. But it has also opened many new fault lines. Brazil hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues. 'BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,' Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Rio to host BRICS summit wary of Trump
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: A summit of BRICS nations will convene in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Monday, with members hoping to weigh in on global crises while tiptoeing around US President Donald Trump's policies. The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies including China, India, Russia and South Africa, which represent nearly half of the world's population and 40 percent of its GDP. Brazil's left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have to navigate the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will miss the summit for the first time. Beijing will instead be represented by its Prime Minister Li Qiang. Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is facing a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will not travel to Brazil, but is set to participate via video link, according to the Kremlin. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, fresh from a 12-day conflict with Israel and a skirmish with the United States, will also be absent, as will his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a Brazilian government source said. Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit, as well as the grim anticipation of tariffs threatened by Trump due next week. 'We're anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,' Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio's Pontifical Catholic University said. China, for example, 'is trying to adopt a restrained position on the Middle East,' Fernandez said, pointing out that Beijing was also in tricky tariff negotiations with Washington. 'This doesn't seem to be the right time to provoke further friction' between the world's two leading economies, the researcher said. BRICS members did not issue a strong statement on the Iran-Israel conflict and subsequent US military strikes due to their 'diverging' interests, according to Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Brazil nevertheless hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues. 'BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,' Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said. However, talks on finding an alternative to the dollar for trade between BRICS members are likely dead in the water. For Fernandez, it is almost 'forbidden' to mention the idea within the group since Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries that challenge the dollar's international dominance. Brazil, which in 2030 will host the COP30 UN climate conference, also hopes to find unity on the fight against climate change. Artificial intelligence and global governance reform will also be on the menu. 'The escalation of the Middle East conflict reinforces the urgency of the debate on the need to reform global governance and strengthen multilateralism,' said foreign minister Vieira. Since 2023, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia have joined the BRICS, formed in 2009 as a counter-balance to leading Western economies. But, as Fernandez points out, this expansion 'makes it all the more difficult to build a strong consensus.'
