South America
Brazil prepares to grant land rights to criminals who stripped Amazon
Brazil’s government is set to roll back protections on vast areas of the Amazon that would legitimise land claims often made under fake names to avoid prosecution
Costa Rica bids for world’s cleanest transport system
With a 98% renewable power grid, Costa Rica is turning its climate efforts to dirty transport, with public companies promoting electric vehicles
Brazil’s Temer urged to veto rollback of forest protections
Nearly 600,000 hectares of land could lose protected status under a law approved by Congress, an area twice the size of the US’ Yosemite national park
Brazil’s pro-beef president Temer, betrayed by the industry he courted
Even as he handed more and more power to an agricultural lobby that would strip the Amazon for pasture, Michel Temer was being double-crossed
Brazilian indigenous leader appeals for solidarity against land grabs
Guarani-Kaiowá leader Ladio Veron is touring Europe to raise awareness of violence and environmental destruction by agribusiness
Worst land-related killings in decades expose Amazon’s lawless frontier
Nine men were brutally killed last month in a remote Brazilian settlement where deforestation, land grabbing and violence go unpunished
Brazilian MPs bid to cut protections for one million hectares of forest
As deforestation spirals out of control, bills to be voted on by Congress would roll back protections on area of forest the size of Jamaica
After floods, Peru has an opportunity to rebuild smarter
Facing an enormous clean-up job, Peru must think about a future where flood like those in March become ever more common
Brazil halves environment budget amid rising Amazon deforestation
In a bid to contain a growing budget deficit, the government has slashed the funding to enforce forest protection laws
Troubled meatpacker JBS sanctioned over Amazon deforestation
World’s biggest meat producer slapped with sanctions by Brazil’s environment agency after cattle were traced to illegally cleared rainforest areas
Brazilian Amazon to ditch diesel for clean energy
Bids have been invited for a renewable power auction in May, to wean the Amazonas region off reliance on fuel imports
“Beef caucus” takes over indigenous policies in Brazil
Indigenous groups say they are at “war” with the Brazilian government after the appointment of a justice minister with close ties to agriculture
Brazil ex-environment minister slams ‘land grabbing’ plan
Izabella Teixeira has hit out at a “shameful” parliamentary proposal to cut conservation zones in Amazonas state
National emergency as Chile fights record forest fires
Drought, heat and commercial foresting have made it easier for fires to spread, killing 11 people and consuming entire towns
Which countries are standing up to Trump on climate?
China, India, Mexico and Canada are among the global heavyweights to signal renewed support for climate action ahead of the new US administration’s first week in office
Brazil’s coffee growers face bleak future as world warms
Small-scale farmers who produce most of the world’s coffee beans face reductions in crop yield and quality as a result of rising temperatures and extreme weather
Peruvian climate lawsuit against German coal giant dismissed
Claimant living under the threat of flooding from melting glaciers is likely to appeal to a higher German court, says lawyer
Brazil set for ‘environmental civil war’, warns minister
Jose Sarney Filho is at loggerheads with the rural lobby in Congress over a bill to tear up environmental protections
Conservation zones exclude indigenous people, drive deforestation
Without their traditional land managers, reserves in Central America are left vulnerable to corporate interests, report finds
Brazil needs new coalitions to halt forest clearance surge
The latest data confirms an increase in tree-cutting, including in the most valuable carbon-rich areas of Amazon rainforest