October 06, 2020

EU: Act against the burning of the Amazon

topic:	Deforestation
tags:	#Avaaz, #European Union, #Amazon fires, #conservation, #deforestation, #petition, #Jair Bolsonaro
located:	Brazil
by:	Yair Oded

The Amazon forest, often dubbed ‘the lungs of the Earth’ for its critical role in absorbing CO2 emissions, is being decimated at an alarming pace. According to the Brazilian government’s own data, deforestation of the Amazon occurs at a rate of three football fields per minute. 

Much of the destruction is caused by illegal logging and mining, which involves intentional burning of large swaths of the Amazon. Under the leadership of Jair Bolsonaro, such devastation intensifies as he dismisses his own government’s data and emboldens both corporations and unsanctioned loggers and miners to plunder the Amazon. 

This ongoing deforestation causes irreversible damage to the Amazon basin, diminishes our chances to slow down the pace of climate change, and devastates indigenous communities fighting - and often losing their lives - to defend their land. 

A petition launched on Azaaz calls on the European Union to condition the ratification of its upcoming trade deal with Brazil to the latter’s cracking down on Amazon deforestation and intentional burning. 

“We urge you to suspend the ratification of the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement until President Bolsonaro takes effective measures to protect the Amazon and the rights of forest defenders, and comply with the Paris climate agreement,” the petition reads. 

It further notes that the last-minute considerations by the EU to incorporate Amazon-protection stipulations into the trade agreement could exert considerable pressure on Bolsonaro, who is evidently eager to secure a deal with some of the world’s strongest economies. 

“We also call on you to immediately ban imports from illegally stripped lands in the Amazon, and pass legislation to extend such prohibition to all products that are contributing to deforestation worldwide,” the petition further states.  

Please consider signing the petition and add your voice to the global outcry calling on Europe to act against the destruction of the Amazon. Once the petition obtains a sufficient number of signatures, Avaaz will launch opinion polls and deliver it to key decision makers and media outlets.  

Image: Greg Neise