Leaders representing the world’s seven biggest economies struck a deal on Monday to bring badly needed aid to the fire-stricken Amazon, following global uproar over the growing threat to the critical natural resource.
But the announcement will likely do little to fix a deep divide on climate issues between several world powers. While European leaders have expressed ongoing concern about the Amazon’s fires, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing government has empowered the business interests linked to the fires, prioritizing agriculture over the environment. And Bolsonaro has an ally in President Donald Trump, who himself missed a G7 climate change meeting earlier in the day, citing “scheduled meetings.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that G7 powers would commit $20 million to assist Brazil and its neighbors in their efforts to protect the Amazon. That group — consisting of France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the United States — meets annually to discuss global economics and policy. Macron said that the initiative had U.S. support, but noted that Trump missed Monday morning’s climate meeting.
View the complete August 26 article by E.A. Crunden on the ThinkProgress website here.