The Amazon: Saving Brazil’s Rainforest

Can the Amazon’s destruction be halted, and if so, what needs to happen to achieve it?

• More than 10,000 square kilometres of Brazil’s rainforest was lost in 12 months last year – an area nearly seven times bigger than greater London.
• Scientists are warning that the rainforest is approaching an irreversible tipping point, as deforestation and illegally started wildfires are said to be encouraged by president Jair Bolsonaro.
• Bolsonaro’s government has repeatedly been accused of “greenwashing” promises to save the Amazon, as deforestation has grown sharply since he took office in 2019.
• Critics say Bolsonaro's plans do not go anywhere near far enough, as the target still allows for about 16% more deforestation than in the year before he became president.
• Although Brazil's lawmakers may pass new legislation which would legitimise further land grabs, hope rests on a pledge signed by Brazil at the 2021 U.N. climate summit to end deforestation by 2030.
• While only time will tell whether pledges will be delivered on, environmentalists want the world to hold Brazil accountable for any continued weak environmental governance and surveillance efforts.