The fires that have been devastating the Amazon rainforest since July are being treated as an environmental and climate emergency, and so have been added at the last minute to the agenda at the G7 summit in Biarritz (24-26 August), at the suggestion of French President Emmanuel Macron.
On the evening of Thursday 22 August, Macron described the disaster as an “international crisis”, and called for the G7 leaders to mobilise under the hashtag #ActfortheAmazon.
“Our house is burning down. Literally. Amazonia, which is the lungs of our planet and produces 20% of our oxygen, is on fire. This is an international crisis. G7 members, we’re meeting in two days’ time to discuss this emergency”, he said on his Twitter account.
On Friday 23 August in the late afternoon, the French G7 Presidency ensured that national diplomatic advisers were mobilised “to have concrete initiatives for Amazonia, which could materialise in the G7”.
The same sense of urgency on the part of the European institutions
“Like millions of people around the world, I am very much concerned about the forest fires in Brazil. They are a threat to our whole planet, not just to Brazil or South America. When it comes to climate change, the situation is extremely serious and we need to act immediately”, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said on his Twitter account.
The situation in Brazil will also be discussed in the European Council, he assured on Friday.
For her part, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, describing the Amazonian forest as a “vital resource for humanity, key in tackling climate change”, said: “Protecting it and fighting the fires is a common responsibility. The EU is ready to do its part and put its experience at the service of our partners from the Amazon basin”.
When questioned by the press on Friday 23 August, the European Commission said it was “extremely concerned”, as Amazonia is the largest rainforest in the world, containing thousands of species.
“We’re ready to help”, including with satellite maps from the Copernicus programme, said Mina Andreeva, a spokesperson for the Commission. For the Commission to be able to provide help, a request must first come from the Brazilian authorities.
Asked whether the Commission intends to increase economic pressure on Brazil to encourage President Jair Bolsonaro to halt deforestation, the spokesperson referred to earlier comments made by Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström: “The best instrument for doing that is Mercosur. It is the first trade agreement to contain provisions for implementing the Paris Agreement. It is a way of encouraging Brazil to comply with the Paris Agreement and other environmental agreements” (see EUROPE 12302/15).
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said via his Twitter account that he was “deeply concerned by the fires in the Amazon rainforest”. He went on to say that, “in the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected”. He will be taking part in the G7 meeting in Biarritz (see EUROPE 12311/1).
The WWF pointed out on Wednesday that Amazonia accounts for between 17 and 20% of the planet’s water resources, 6.7 million km2 of its forests, 10% of global biodiversity, and 20% of the Earth’s oxygen, and is home to more than 34 million people. It stressed how much the world has to lose as a result of the fires in the tropical rainforest. The statement also condemned “the lack of action being taken to stop its destruction”.
Jair Bolsonaro’s response to Mr Macron was not long in coming: “The Brazilian government remains open to dialogue based on objective data and mutual respect. The French President’s proposal to discuss Amazonian matters at the G7 without the involvement of the countries in the region comes from a colonialist mindset that is unacceptable in the 21st century”.
Forest fires in Brazil have increased by 84% since the beginning of 2019 (up to nearly 75,000 fires) compared with the same period in 2018. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)