SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil is considering measures that would roll back environmental protections and make it difficult to meet its Paris climate accord targets – a signal it is stepping back from its global leadership on climate change just as the United States is also retreating.
Congress has already passed two measures that will dramatically reduce the size of protected environmental reserves. Lawmakers are also considering substantially relaxing environmental licensing rules for infrastructure, agricultural and industrial projects. A proposal that would change how indigenous lands are designated, potentially reducing their size and protection, is also on the table.
This comes at a time when the Amazon and Atlantic rain forests are being cut at the fastest rate in nearly a decade, and the violent struggle for control of forested land is in on the rise.
“Brazil is throwing aside the opportunity to be a leader on these questions,” said Marcio Astrini, coordinator of public policy for Greenpeace in Brazil. “It’s very hard for someone to manage to be worse than (U.S. President Donald) Trump on the environment, but the Brazilian government is working very hard” to do that.
Brazil was long seen as a global leader on environmental issues. As the major steward of the Amazon rain forest, its policies have a tremendous effect on global rates of carbon emissions reduction. In conjunction with Trump’s recent decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement, Brazil’s move away from environmental regulation could jeopardize global goals.