Emmanuel Macron calls Amazon fires an ‘international crisis’ as Jair Bolsonaro says Brazil lacks resources to fight blazes
- ‘Our house is burning. Literally,’ French president says, urging world leaders to discuss issue at G7 summit
- Fires in Amazon surged 83 per cent this year, destroying vast swathes of forest considered vital bulwark against climate change
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said raging wildfires in the Amazon were an “international crisis” and called on this weekend’s G7 to address the issue.
“Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rainforest – the lungs which produces 20 per cent of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days!” he said on Twitter.
His comments came as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said his government lacked the resources to fight a record number of wildfires burning in the Amazon rainforest, weeks after telling donors he did not need their money.
Fires in the Amazon have surged 83 per cent so far this year compared with the same period a year earlier, government figures show, destroying vast swathes of a forest considered a vital bulwark against climate change.
Although fires are a regular and natural occurrence during the regular dry season at this time of year, environmentalists blamed the sharp rise on farmers setting the forest alight to clear land for pasture.