Brazil Criticised for Anti-Environmental Stance at Climate Summit

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Environment Minister, Ricardo Salles, was booed on Wednesday (August 21st) at the opening of the third day of the Latin American and Caribbean Climate Change Week (LACCW), being held in Salvador, Bahia. Over the last few months, the Bolsonaro administration has been severely criticized for its anti-environmental stance, especially when it comes to the Amazon region.

Booing Salles was just the latest criticism received by Brazil’s federal government, but government officials do not seem to take note.

“We were convinced by the mayor (ACM Neto) to hold the event, which allows each of you to be making your demonstrations here,” said the minister responding to the booing.

In May, the minister announced that the federal government was canceling the LACCW event. At the time, Salles said that “it made no sense” for Brazil to host a meeting to prepare for the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 25), which would no longer happen in Brazil.

“I am going to host a conference that will prepare for another one, which will not happen in Brazil anymore. Why? Doesn’t make any sense! Have a meeting, so these have the opportunity to do tourism in Salvador?” he said.

A few days later, however, he changed his mind, after Salvador’s mayor, announced the city would host the event even without Brazil’s federal government’s support.

As Salles was being booed in Salvador, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasília that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) could be behind the recent burnings in the Amazon region.

“So, there may be criminal activity by these NGO people to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil. This is the war we face,” he said, noting that the federal government had suspended funds to various organizations.

“Of all foreign aid, forty percent went to NGOs. There is no more (of that). We also ended the transfer of public money. So, these people are missing the money,” he added.

This continuous “attack” on the environment has stained Brazil’s image abroad when it comes to taking care of its natural resources.

Representatives in Salvador say there are growing concerns that the current Brazilian administration may take anti-environmental stances to levels which could lead to irreparable damage to the region.

“Even in some of the most recent critical political moments, such as Dilma’s (Rousseff) impeachment proceedings, Brazil ratified the Paris Accord in both the Chamber and the Senate,” said Carlos Rittl, executive secretary of the environmental non-profit organization Observatório do Clima (Climate Observatory), during a seminar earlier this month.

“For the past few years, Brazil has been a key player in the socio-environmental agenda,” said Rittl. “Today it still plays a significant role, but in the anti-environmental agenda,” concluded the executive sadly.

On Monday, some of Brazil’s most prestigious environmentalists called for other participants to start taking a more active role in the country’s environment.

“If the federal government is reluctant, cities and states have to take the lead in taking care of climate change,” said Brazilian climatologist and researcher Carlos Nobre, who is one of the participants.

And it seems that some officials are starting to do just that. Governors of states within the Amazon region released a statement, on Sunday 18th, stating that they regret the measures and positions taken by the Brazilian federal government for the region, which ultimately led Germany and Norway to suspend financial aid to help preserve the Amazon.

“The bloc reaffirms the importance of resources allocated by Germany and Norway. We, Governors in Legal Amazon, are unconditional defenders of the Amazon Fund,” says the note signed by a group of governors from Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins.

The governors also said they intend to negotiate directly with the two foreign countries involved. “The bloc has already advised the (Brazilian) president and the embassies of Norway, Germany, and France that the consortium will be in direct dialogue with the Fund’s funding countries,” concluded the statement.

The LACCW continues until Friday, August 23rd, with the presence of leaders, policymakers, regional and global actors from twenty-six countries discussing climate action for the region.