US seeks to sanction criminals behind surging deforestation in Amazon rainforest
‘Lungs of the world’ in dire state under Bolosonaro’s leadership
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The United States is planning to slap sanctions on deforestation perpetrators in the Amazon rainforest in a bid to tackle the climate crisis.
Under outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation hit a 15-year high as the right-wing leader unwaveringly supported record levels of mining and commercial farming in the Amazon.
But people behind the deforestation are set to be threatened with Magnitsky sanctions which would freeze any US assets and block all American and US companies from dealing with sanctioned individuals and businesses.
Mr Bolsonaro however has one foot out of the door and will be replaced with climate-conscious Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who will take office from January 2023, and has already pledged to end deforestation at Cop27 earlier this month.
But a shaky history between Lula and the US raises questions on how the left-wing leader will respond to the sanctions plan. Lula has himself said that he believes the US sought to impair him politically and played a part in him being jailed.
Nevertheless, Lula’s commitment to tackling environmental catastrophe is a positive sign for the mutual desire between the US and the president-elect to bring down deforestation levels.
“Let’s fight for zero deforestation,” Lula said in his first speech as president-elect.
“Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis, protecting all our biomes, especially the Amazon Forest.
“Brazil will fight for a living Amazon; a standing tree is worth more than thousands of logs. That is why we will resume the surveillance of the entire Amazon and any illegal activity, and at the same time we will promote sustainable development.”
Popularly known as the “lungs of the world”, the Amazon forest cleans the air we breathe, stores around 76 billion tonnes of carbon in total, and releases 20 billion tonnes of water into the atmosphere each day.
A US official told Reuters that the process of identifying and investigating specific targets has already begun.
The US Treasury department, which is responsible for Magnitsky sanctions, declined to comment to Reuters. Neither Bolsonaro’s office nor Brazil’s Justice Ministry responded to requests for comment. Lula’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments