Brazil’s new laws threaten Amazon deforestation protections
Environmental groups are criticizing new laws in Brazil’s Amazon states that undermine an agreement preventing soy cultivation on recently deforested land.
Fabiano Maisonnave reports for The Associated Press.
In short:
- New laws in Mato Grosso and Rondonia reduce tax incentives for companies complying with the Amazon soy moratorium.
- The moratorium bans buying soybeans from land deforested after 2008, helping reduce Amazon deforestation.
- Environmental groups urge companies to uphold the agreement despite potential financial losses.
Key quote:
“This means penalizing companies committed to ending deforestation, promoting the continued expansion of agribusiness in Amazon forest areas, creating subsidies for deforestation and discriminating against the granting of tax incentives based on companies’ environmental commitment.”
— Manifesto by Greenpeace, WWF and Climate Observatory
Why this matters:
Weakening the soy moratorium threatens to accelerate Amazon deforestation, worsening climate change and biodiversity loss. The Amazon plays a critical role in global carbon storage and regulating weather patterns.
