Pope Calls on World Leaders to Save the Amazon Rainforest From Destruction
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Jair Bolsonaro‘s rejection continues to increase. Pope Francis expressed his indignation over the deforestation of the Amazon. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the Pontiff believes that it is the role of world leaders to save the rainforest, which covers nine countries in South America. According to the Pope, the biome “is a representative and decisive place.”
“Together with the oceans, it makes a decisive contribution to the planet’s survival,” recalled the Pope, who convened a synod of bishops on this topic in the Vatican in October.
In June this year alone, 920.2 km² of rainforest were destroyed in the Amazon, an 88 percent increase compared to the same month last year, according to the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER), a warning service on deforestation and forest degradation in the Legal Amazon. From April to June, 1,907.1 km² were deforested. In 2018, 1,528.2 km² were recorded in the same period, which means an increase of 24.8 percent.
The Pope called on political leaders to do away with “their conspiracy and corruption” to focus on these issues. “Specific responsibilities must be taken, for instance, on the issue of open-air mines, which poison water and cause so many diseases,” said Francis.
The Economist magazine called for a boycott of Brazil’s meat and soybeans to fight illegal deforestation. Germany has frozen a loan of R$155 million for projects to preserve the Amazon, and Norway has announced the suspension of more than R$130 million.
The president of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG), Goiás Marcello Brito, CEO of Agropalma, also anticipates losses to the Brazilian economy. Questioned by Valor if “it is a matter of time before they stop buying from Brazil,” the president of ABAG was adamant: “It is a matter of time.”
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