Brasília, Europe Brief News- Brazil has set a new grim record for Amazon deforestation during the first three months of 2022 compared with a year earlier, government data shows, spurring concern and warnings from environmentalists.
From January to March, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose 64 percent from a year ago to 941sq km (363sq miles), data from national space research agency Inpe showed.
According to the INPE report, published Friday, 941.34 square kilometers (363 square miles) of forest were cleared between January and March this year. That’s the largest amount recorded since the institute began monitoring deforestation rates in 2016. The area cleared is nearly the size of Dallas, Texas.
Researchers observed a 64% increase from the same time period last year, when 573.29 square kilometers (221 square miles) were cleared.
Destruction of the world’s largest rainforest has surged since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019 and weakened environmental protections, arguing that they hinder economic development that could reduce poverty in the Amazon region.
The president’s office and the Environment Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A UN climate panel report on Monday warned that governments are not doing enough to rein in greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert the worst effects of global warming. While fossil fuel use is mostly to blame, deforestation accounts for about 10% of global emissions, according to the report.
“Brazil is an example of what the UN climate report is saying when referring to governments not taking the necessary actions,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, a forest campaigner in Brazil for environmental advocacy group Greenpeace.
“We have a government that goes deliberately against the necessary steps to limit climate change.”
Some scientists predict deforestation will continue to rise ahead of Brazil’s October presidential election, as it has ahead of the last three elections.
