South America
Norway oil fund omits meatpacker JBS from deforestation watch list
The $1 trillion investor is raising deforestation concerns with a number of beef companies but not the Amazon’s biggest cattle buyer, despite evidence against it
Costa Rica president-elect promises to lead the country towards an oil-free future
Carlos Alvarado Quesada is promising to replace petrol and diesel in the transport system with clean energy, comparing the task to abolishing the army
US, EU biggest importers of illegal Amazon ipe timber: report
Dodgy credits allow exporters to ship the valuable timber overseas, to unsuspecting consumers who are unaware the timber may be illegal
Avocado trade threatened by shipping climate measure, say Chile, Peru
Speed limits at sea could cut shipping’s carbon footprint fast, but fresh fruit exporters are raising concerns about trade impacts ahead of a critical UN meeting
Brazil fights emissions cap for shipping, citing cost concerns
Ahead of a key meeting at the International Maritime Organisation in April, Brazil is leading objections to setting tough climate targets for the sector
Brazil should support ambition in the climate deal of the year
With countries set to agree a climate target for international shipping in April, Brazil has the chance to be a green seas leader, not a laggard
Nicaragua assumes top climate finance post despite past Paris scepticism
Paul Oquist has been approved as co-chair of the Green Climate Fund, against Georgia’s objection Nicaragua was not a cooperative international player
Chile declares start of coal power phase-out
President Michelle Bachelet says the country will not build new coal plants without carbon capture and begin talks to replace existing capacity with cleaner sources
Peru ends era of ‘roadless wilderness’ in its Amazon rainforests
Roads spread destruction and deforestation in the Amazon, now Peru, driven by neoliberal imperatives, plans a highway for one of the regions most sensitive forests
The Brazilian state letting illegal Amazon loggers keep logging
In Mato Grosso, logging permits are issued that allow export to European markets, even to those charged with crimes by federal authorities
Will these hand-painted signs be enough to stop a dam in the Amazon?
With indigenous land demarcations frozen across Brazil, illegal mining and hydro dams threaten the Amazon. Communities are taking matters into their own hands
It’s war in the Amazon, says Brazil’s top environmental law enforcer
Local politicians are colluding with gangs to undermine rainforest protection, Luciano Evaristo tells delegates at UN climate talks in Bonn
Climate finance helps ayahuasca culture protect remote Amazon forest
Six hours from the nearest road, German climate money funds a hallucinogenic festival that tips the scales in a culture war between indigenous villagers and cattle ranchers
Brazil’s carbon emissions rose 8.9% in 2016, despite recession
After a surge in illegal deforestation, Brazil’s carbon emissions have risen for the third year running, according to a new study
Brazilian Amazon lost 660,000 hectares of forest in last year
Temer government claimed a victory as deforestation rate declines slightly, but green groups said announcement was no cause for celebration
Greenpeace plane crashes in Brazilian Amazon, Swedish woman killed
Carolina Nyberg-Steiser, 29, from Greenpeace Nordic was killed after the plane crashed into a river. It is the second time in recent years the NGO has lost a plane in Brazil
Amazon forest fires pushing climate change ‘beyond human control’
Leading Amazon scientist highlights ‘grave problems’ in Brazil’s management of the world’s most important forest as climate-driven fires eat it away
UK vetoes two South American climate finance bids
The British board member mounted a solo opposition to rural development projects in Paraguay and Argentina at a Green Climate Fund meeting in Cairo
Forest diamonds
How family rivalry and the Catholic church helped miners devastate an indigenous Amazon territory
Brazil’s Temer extends amnesty to Amazon land-grabbers
Embattled president is regularising illegally occupied land at knock-down prices, in a move environmentalists fear will lead to more deforestation