By Rozina Sabur

In the early 2000’s Brazil was one of the global leaders on climate change. The country was known for its reliance on renewable energy sources and between 2005 and 2012 it successfully reduced deforestation by close to 80 percent. However, in recent years this has changed. 

On January 1, 2019, Brazil’s climate stance changed dramatically with the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is a strong believe that environmental preservation is in opposition with economic growth, so the president campaigned on and succeeded in removing protections for the Amazon rainforest. Since then the Amazon has been under fire (literally) as cattle farms set the great rain forest ablaze for grazing fields. However, this is not Brazil’s only environmental problem of 2019. Early September the coast of Brazil has been engulfed in a terrible and mysterious oil spill and the government is doing little about it.

After almost two months Brazil’s government has struggled to make much progress cleaning the spill that has affected over a 1,000 miles of coast and have failed to locate the source. In light of the recent fires in the Amazon, and the lack of effort involved in cleaning the oil spill, Brazil has received an overwhelmingly negative perception from other countries and world leaders. However, their lack of action does not go without consequences.

Global leaders are noticing Brazil’s lack of action and laying down threats of their own. Already many US candidates such as Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 election have proposed fees on goods imported to the US from countries that don’t meet their carbon adjustment goals. Additionally, countries like France and Ireland have threatened Brazil with heavy sanctions for lack of action. When Brazil opted to shut down programs for curbing deforestation Germany froze $39 million in aid money and Norway cut an additional $33million. Brazil is quickly becoming the enemy in the eyes of many western leaders.

The important takeaway is that we are all responsible for our environment. The environmental problems taking place in Brazil right now are not just Brazil’s problems but everyone’s. Brazil is the most biodiverse country in the world estimated to be the host of somewhere between 15-20% of all species on earth. The great Amazon Rainforest produces so much of the worlds oxygen it is often referred to as the world’s lungs. It is up to everyone to protect the natural wonders of Brazil. We must pressure our representatives and governments and spread awareness so others will step in where Brazil wont.