It鈥檚 not a move in the right direction. Just as a major climate report has highlighted how we are not doing nearly enough to meet the target of the Paris climate agreement, the first round of Brazil鈥檚 presidential election has been won by a far-right candidate who wants to withdraw from the聽deal.
Jair Bolsonaro will face a left-wing Workers鈥� Party candidate in the second round on 28 October after he failed to get the 50 per cent of votes needed to win outright in the first round.
As a large developing country and home of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil鈥檚 actions really matter when it comes to limiting further climate change. At one point the country had succeeded in greatly slowing deforestation but .
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The Amazon rainforest is being cut down to make way for cattle ranches and soya farms. High prices for soya, as well as reduced funding for forest protection, are behind the rise in deforestation.
鈥淭he abandonment of deforestation control policies and the political support for predatory agricultural practices make it impossible to meet targets consistent with Brazil鈥檚 contribution to a 2掳C world,鈥� in a letter in the journal聽Nature Climate Change.
If Bolsonaro becomes president, environmental protections are likely to be weakened even further. Bolsonaro also wants eliminate the science and environment ministries, and his views on women and gay people have provoked outrage.
The US has also said it will withdraw from the Paris agreement, but it cannot actually do so until 2020.
