Good morning! Today, a Supreme Court trial on climate change. The rise of EV sales in Brazil. The specter of Operation Car Wash still looms. And how trust is an increasingly rare commodity.
Supreme Court will weigh in on the climate crisis
The Brazilian Supreme Court will begin a trial today on whether the Brazilian government has omitted itself from tackling climate change. The debates, which could last for at least a week, will weave together seven different lawsuits accusing President Jair Bolsonaro and his cabinet of neglecting the environment – be it by loosening regulations or simply not enforcing them.
- The government is also under challenge for not using the so-called “Amazon Fund,” which was financed by foreign countries as a way to foster sustainable development in the Amazon. Since 2019, resources from the fund have been frozen after Mr. Bolsonaro extinguished two technocratic committees that were a key part of funding negotiations.
- Another lawsuit challenges the government for disregarding a 2004 plan that reduced deforestation rates by over 80 percent between 2002 and 2012.
Context. Deforestation did creep back up as of the Dilma Rousseff years – though Mr. Bolsonaro has taken it to a whole new level....