South America
Conservationists back indigenous peoples’ call to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025
Members of the IUCN Congress overwhelmingly backed the motion but Brazilian experts warn the verdict will likely be ignored by Bolsonaro’s government
On a mission: Evangelicals flock to the Amazon home of isolated tribes
On Brazil’s border with Peru, evangelical churches are multiplying, in a threat to uncontacted indigenous groups
Brazil plans to prop up coal sector, defying calls for a global phase out
The government has published a plan for the ‘sustainable’ use of coal that would allow the fossil fuel to be burnt until 2050
Argentina pitches green debt swap, with the Pope’s blessing
Pope Francis is the unlikely champion of a pioneering green debt relief plan for Argentina, but it is a politically sensitive issue in his home country
‘Hot air’ carbon offset scheme undermines Colombia’s climate goal, experts warn
Colombia stands to lose $62m in carbon tax revenue and underperform its emissions targets due to flawed forest carbon credit projects, investigators claim
Months after criminal probes launched, Brazilian environment minister quits
Ricardo Salles is the subject of two police investigations into collusion with loggers illegally cutting down the Amazon rainforest
Brazil’s environment minister investigated for illegal logging cover-up
The Supreme Court authorised the federal police to investigate Ricardo Salles over suspicions of a ‘serious scheme’ to facilitate the export of illegal timber out of Brazil
In Amazon protection talks, US demands action from Bolsonaro
Joe Biden promised to mobilise $20 billion to protect the Amazon rainforest, but negotiations with Jair Bolsonaro’s government are fraught
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