{"id":7009,"date":"2021-05-06T15:04:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T15:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=7009"},"modified":"2021-09-23T12:30:20","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T12:30:20","slug":"brazil-is-trying-to-legalise-the-deforestation-of-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/brazil-is-trying-to-legalise-the-deforestation-of-the-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil is trying to legalise the deforestation of the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why the EU must not reward them with the Mercosur deal<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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06.05.2021<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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An opinion by Anna Cavazzini<\/a> and Yannick Jadot, <\/a>Greens\/EFA MEPs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Illegally logging site on Pirititi indigenous amazon lands on May 8, 2018 \n\nby quapan (CC BY 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The Amazon rainforest in Brazil has\nreleased 20% more carbon in the past decade than it has captured, according to\na recent\nstudy<\/a>. This makes the Brazilian Amazon now a net\nemitter of CO2, bringing it closer to its \u201ctipping point\u201d when the Amazon will\nbecome unable to sustain itself. Deforestation of the Amazon has also been\nproven to increase\nthe risk of emerging zoonotic diseases<\/a>: diseases shared\nbetween animals and people with the potential of evolving into a global\npandemic. Against this worrying backdrop, the Brazilian Senate announced last\nweek, at particularly short notice, that it would be voting on bill PL 510\/2021\n– better known as the \u201cland grabbing bill\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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This law would effectively grant amnesty to\ninvaders of public land and allow them to receive the title of land they\nillegally deforested. Civil society and environmental organisations all over\nthe world have jumped into action. Rightfully so, as this legislation would\nessentially encourage\nillegal deforestation and exacerbate existing land conflicts<\/a> between the\nagricultural sector and indigenous people. It\u2019s a matter of global concern. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Amazon forest \/ CC0 eduardo-zmievski<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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As a result of the public backlash to the\nannouncement, the Brazilian Senate have postponed the vote. Nonetheless, there\nare many reasons to stay alert. The legislation might be put back on the agenda\nat any time with very short notice. This is also not the only legislation\ncurrently up for consideration by the Brazilian Congress dealing with the\nfast-growing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The European Union is well aware of the\nrole the Amazon plays in the wellbeing of the planet and people. The EU is\nabout to present its plans to combat EU-driven global deforestation. It is\ntherefore hard to believe that, despite such a red flag, the European\nCommission and many Member States continue to insist on the ratification of the\nEU-Mercosur trade\ndeal<\/a>. This trade deal will boost cheaper agricultural imports from South\nAmerican countries, like Brazil, to the EU and is estimated to lead to a 25% increase\nin deforestation<\/a> in the Mercosur region. The deal has been criticised for\nbeing too weak, with sustainability standards that are not truly enforceable.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Amazon forest Brazil \/ CC0 patrik-carlberg<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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At a time when the Amazon is rapidly\napproaching its \u201ctipping point\u201d, the Brazilian government is dismantling\nenvironmental protection policies at record speed. They\u2019re sacrificing our\nplanet for greed and putting all of our lives in danger. We can\u2019t reward them\nwith a trade deal worth billions of euros. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement must\nbe dropped immediately. Making empty declarations with toothless commitments on\ndeforestation will simply not be enough to fix the agreement. It\u2019s the EU\u2019s\nresponsibility to reopen negotiations with Brazil in order to address the\nserious shortcomings of this agreement, and to make it very clear that no\ntariff preferences can be granted unless the protection of the Amazon\nrainforest is restored and enforced by the Brazilian government. Until then we,\nas the Greens\/EFA in the European Parliament, will continue to oppose this\ntrade deal and call on the Commission and Member States to set their priorities\nstraight.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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How will the EU-Mercosur Trade Deal impact people and the planet? What can we do to stop the Mercosur Agreement?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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