The environment minister of Brazil, where wildfires have been sweeping the Amazon rainforest, was booed at a climate event on Wednesday as celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio and Ariana Grande joined an international chorus of criticism.
An opposition senator is planning to seek his impeachment at Brazil’s supreme court. On Wednesday, the far-right president,Jair Bolsonaro, suggested NGOs were to blame for the surge in rainforest blazes because they lost money under his administration – but provided no evidence for his claim. Environmentalists blame Bolsonaro’s attack on environmental protection agencies and plans to develop protected indigenous reserves for inflaming deforestation.
Analysts said the Amazon has become a political problem for Bolsonaro, who wants to develop the rainforest and has told foreigners to mind their own business.Nasa tweeted photos of smoke and fires over several Amazon states, saying that while blazes are common in these drier, winter months, “the number of fires may be record-setting”. Fires are up by more than 80% so far compared with last year, according to Brazil’s space research institute.
