Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon during 2022, the last year of rightwing President Jair Bolsonaro in office, reached a surface akin to that of a country such as Lebanon, it was reported Friday.
European lawmakers and EU member states inked a deal on Tuesday, December 6, to ban the purchase of products such as cocoa, coffee, and soybeans that contribute to deforestation, increasing the pressure exerted on Brazilian exports. The list also encompasses palm oil, wood, beef, rubber, and derivate products like skins, chocolate, furniture, and paper.
Brazil's Amazon lost 903.8 square kilometers of forest during the month of October of 2022, which is tantamount to 3% more than in the same period last year, the National Institute of Special Research (INPE) reported during the weekend.
Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom are supporting a plan from the Colombian government, working with local communities to contain deforestation in the Colombian Amazon, it was announced at the COP27 taking place at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
European Union lawmakers have backed a proposal for a law that would ban the sale in the 27-nation bloc of agriculture products linked to the destruction of forests, and human rights violations. The bill was supported by 453 votes, to 57 with 123 abstentions. The EU Parliament will now start negotiations on the final text with EU member states.
The European Council, the body that sets the political agenda of the European Union (EU), agreed on a proposal to limit the entry and trade of commodities where production has contributed to “deforestation or forest degradation” worldwide.
French labor unions CGT, the UGT, and CUT Wednesday put McDonald's France “on notice” that it needs to submit a vigilance plan attesting to its compliance with local laws, while the company's Brazilian suppliers have been placed under scrutiny for their alleged poor social and environmental practices.
A letter from 34 Brazilian environmental organizations addressed to the European Union called for more effective legislation banning imports from countries involved in deforestation. On Thursday EU ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss a proposal banning the purchase of products that fuel deforestation, such as soy, beef, palm oil, cocoa, and coffee.
Despite announcements from the Government of President Jair Bolsonaro that action would be taken to reverse the trend, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has reached new highs in January of 2022, it was reported Friday.
A report by the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA) released Wednesday has shown a 138% increase in degradation in indigenous lands and 130% in Conservation Units, (CUs) compared to three years before President Jair Bolsonaro took office.