A study conducted by the Brazilian space research center INPE revealed that carbon emissions in the Amazon forest witnessed a significant increase in 2019 and 2020 compared to the previous decade. This surge was attributed to the inadequate enforcement of environmental protection policies.
In 2019, the forest’s carbon emissions reached 0.44 billion metric tons, while in 2020, it climbed to 0.52 billion metric tons. These figures surpass the annual average of 0.24 billion metric tons recorded between 2010 and 2018, as outlined in the INPE study published in Nature magazine.
The study’s leader, Luciana Gatti, highlighted that the rise in carbon emissions was primarily caused by a substantial increase in deforestation.
Deforestation in the Amazon, the largest rainforest globally, hit a 12-year high in 2020, with 11,088 square kilometers (2.7 million acres) of land destroyed.
Since assuming office in January, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and reverse the policies of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 to 2022 and significantly reduced environmental protection efforts.
Furthermore, the research revealed a 50% decrease in the number of fines imposed by enforcement agencies for illegal deforestation in the Amazon in 2020 compared to the levels recorded between 2010 and 2018.
The study relied on carbon dioxide samples collected during numerous research flights over the region from 2010 to 2020.
In July, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon reached its lowest monthly level since 2017, with 500 square kilometers (123,000 acres) of rainforest being cleared. This marks a 66% drop from the same period in the previous year, according to data from INPE.
Reporting by Fernando Cardoso; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Chris Reese
Credit: The Star : News Feed
