Today, Bolsonaro’s new tactic on deforestation. Embraer’s new plane deals. The signs of a second wave. And the state of play in runoff elections.
Bolsonaro wants to share blame for Amazon deforestation
After becoming an international pariah due to his government’s hands-off approach to deforestation in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro used the 2020 BRICS Summit yesterday to share the blame around. He promised that within the next few days, he will reveal which countries are importing illegal timber from the Amazon rainforest.
“Some of these countries are the most severe critics of my administration regarding this deforestation issue,” said the president during his remarks.
- The president made reference to a method developed by the Brazilian Federal Police to track timber by using stable isotope analysis. While the president has yet to name any country, a 2017 operation seized 120 containers with 2,400 square meters of illegal timber being sent to Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The latter two — France in particular — have been harsh critics of Mr. Bolsonaro’s environmental policies (or lack thereof).
- The Bolsonaro administration made illegal exports easier by lifting documentation requirements for exporters. Still, data from NGO Imazon...