The Brazilian Government has rejected $22 million pledged by the G7 nations to help tackle fires in the Amazon forest, despite President Jair Bolsonaro previously claiming that the South American nation did not have the resources to do so.
“Thanks, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe,” Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, told Brazilian news site Globo.
Bolsonaro, a far-right climate change skeptic, has previously rejected foreign aid pledges and accused French President Emmanuel Macron of treating the South American nation as a “colony,” in the lead up to the G7 summit.
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In reference to the Notre Dame cathedral fire which shook Paris in April, Lorenzoni added: “Macron cannot even prevent a predictable fire in the country that’s part of the world’s heritage, and he wants to give us lessons for our country?”
What to watch for: On Tuesday, Bolsonaro is meeting with governors of states affected by the Amazon fires, four days after he authorised the military to help combat the fires.
Key background: G7 leaders pledged an immediate release of $22 million to fight the fires in the rain forest region, which are up more than 80% on last year, according to Brazil’s space agency, INPE.
The funds would have bought more fire-fighting planes and strengthened the military operation, according to Macron. Just last week, Bolsonaro told reporters: “The Amazon is bigger than Europe, how will you fight criminal fires in such an area? We do not have the resources for that.”
Despite Brazil’s rejection, critics criticised the amount as too little, especially compared with the nearly $1 billion pledged to restore the Notre Dame cathedral. Brazil’s environment minister, Ricardo Salles, had earlier on Monday welcomed the funds.
