South America
Colombia banks on forest economy to deliver climate ambition leap
Since the end of a 50-year civil war, Colombia has seen a spike in forest clearance, that the government now hopes to reverse with agroforestry initiatives
The net tightens around illegal logging operations in Pará, Bolsonaro’s stronghold
Uruará voted for Brazil’s rightwing president hoping for a more relaxed approach to illegal logging, but enforcement agencies are cracking down
Brazil sets ‘indicative’ goal of carbon neutrality by 2060
Brazil is seeking to join the net zero club, but campaigners denounced its pledge as meaningless while deforestation rises under President Bolsonaro
Brazil must reverse deforestation trends before EU finalises Mercosur trade deal
Imazon study finds indigenous people’s territories at greatest risk from forest clearance as a result of growing agricultural activity under the agreement
Bolsonaro’s attack on the Amazon breaches Brazil’s constitution, climate lawyers argue
Brazilian campaigners are fighting in the Supreme Court to reinstate anti-deforestation policies and resources slashed by the Bolsonaro administration
Landless Brazilians are invading more and more protected areas of the Amazon
Emboldened by President Bolsonaro, landless people are settling in environmental reserves and indigenous territories
Peru and Switzerland sign ‘world first’ carbon offset deal under Paris Agreement
In an agreement that took two years to negotiate, Peru will get finance for sustainable development projects while Switzerland takes credit for the emissions cuts
Brazilian spies intimidated government’s own delegates at climate talks
Bolsonaro sent four secret agents to the Cop25 climate summit in Madrid, where campaigners said Brazilian negotiators were afraid to talk to them
Brazil’s military operations are not halting deforestation in the Amazon
Jair Bolsonaro has transferred the command of anti-deforestation operations in the Amazon to the military. But the army presence is making little difference
Bolsonaro shifts blame for unprecedented Brazilian wetland fires
In a message to the UN, Brazil’s president denied responsibility for the worst fires on record in the Pantanal, despite having slashed environmental protections
Encouraged by Bolsonaro, land grabbers advance on Amazon indigenous territory
Illegal settlements are springing up on indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon, driving deforestation
Green shift urged to revive Brazil’s economy and shield Amazon forests
President Bolsonaro could rebuild the economy faster after Covid-19 by making low-carbon growth a pillar of recovery, international study says
Amazon land grabbers are destroying brazil nut groves for cattle pasture
Emboldened by a promised amnesty on land seizures, cattle ranchers are felling brazil nut trees, edging out families who have harvested them for generations
The Amazon home of Bolsonaro’s mineral fantasy
Indigenous inhabitants of the region with the largest deposits of niobium in the world claim the right to decide what is done with the metal
EU must not sacrifice the Amazon rainforest on the altar of trade with Brazil
As Brazil’s second-biggest trade partner, the EU should condemn President Bolsonaro’s assault on environmental protections and indigenous rights
Amazon faces ‘perfect storm’ of forest clearance, coronavirus and wildfire
President Jair Bolsonaro’s opening up of the Brazilian rainforest to logging and mining makes its people vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic, experts warn
Chile to peak emissions by 2025, under strengthened climate pledge
In the midst of a global pandemic, government ministers stressed the need to build a sustainable, resilient economy for the long term
Electric buses offer Latin American and Caribbean transport a green and profitable future
Sponsored content: The Inter-American Development Bank is mobilising different divisions within the bank while working with public and private actors to drive the transition towards electric public transport
The second death of Chico Mendes
Rubber tappers burn an Amazon forest reserve in Brazil to clear land to raise cattle – deforestation has increased under President Jair Bolsonaro
Carbon taxes are key to stop deforestation
In Colombia and Costa Rica, where governments have imposed carbon taxes, deforestation rates are down, while revenues to fund forest restoration efforts are up