Politician expected to become Brazil’s new environment minister pays tribute to murdered British journalist Dom Phillips, while Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s incoming government says: Protect the Amazon He said he would fight to honor the memory of the rainforest martyrs who were killed as
After Lula’s historic election win on Sunday, Marina Silva told The Guardian that Brazil now sees conservation, sustainability and the climate crisis take center stage after Jair Bolsonaro’s era of Amazon destruction. He said he had the opportunity to build a “new democratic ecosystem” that would become
“It is with great sadness to learn that many of the people who dreamed of this moment and fought for it are no longer here. said Silva, an Amazon-born environmentalist.
Silva paid tribute to Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who were killed in the Amazon in June.
“This has been a long struggle and unfortunately Chico Mendes, Sister Dorothy [Stang]Dom Phillips, Bruno and all those who fell as part of this struggle [are no longer with us]said Silva, who also honored the indigenous peoples and environmental activists killed during Bolsonaro’s four-year rule.
In his first speech as president-elect, Lula promised to make the environment one of the government’s top priorities, telling journalists:
Lula, who succeeded in dramatically reducing deforestation during his two terms, said Brazil would regain a leading role in fighting the climate crisis and was open to international cooperation to protect the environment. Told.
On Sunday, Norway’s environment minister announced a multi-billion dollar international kitten designed to support conservation efforts in the Amazon, which had been frozen as a result of a “head-on clash with Bolsonaro” over deforestation. One Amazon fund said it would be reopened.
Lula will send a high-level delegation to the COP27 climate summit in Egypt next month.
“Brazil and the planet need the Amazon alive,” Lula told reporters, vowing to crack down on illegal mining, logging and grazing. “A single standing tree is worth more than tons of timber harvested illegally by someone who only cares about easy profit.”
“When indigenous children are killed for the greed of environmental predators, part of the human race also dies,” Lula added.
Born in a remote rubber-banging community in the Amazon state of Acre, Marina Silva said such a commitment is “a matter of honoring all the heritage and memories of all those who lost their lives, and that Brazil is a sustainable country.” It is a democratic country that fights inequality in a unique way.”
Marcio Astrini, head of an NGO umbrella group called the Climate Observatory, said he was encouraged by Lula’s message.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of a president-elect ending deforestation in the Amazon. He wouldn’t have had to do this if he wasn’t convinced it was possible,” Astorini said. “I think he really believes that the environmental agenda is something that needs to be treated as a priority in his government.”
Astrini acknowledged that Amazon’s problems won’t go away overnight. The number of deforestation, which increased dramatically under Bolsonaro, is unlikely to drop significantly next year due to the rotten “legacies” left by right-wing incumbents.
Destruction of the Amazon exploded in the run-up to the elections as environmental criminals raced to destroy the rainforest before Bolsonaro lost power. rice field.
“But you have to start somewhere,” Astorini said. “The next four years will be a golden opportunity to restore what has been wrecked and build consensus so that we never witness a similar destruction again.”
