£16m may buy headlines but it doesn't fund many firefighting planes or trees.
The G7 leaders’ pledge to donate £16m to help the Amazon is an attempt to buy headlines, not stop deforestation.
As the leaders of the G7 group of countries gathered in France’s Biarritz this weekend, parts of the Amazon rainforest have been on fire.
Understandably, these fires have grabbed the world’s attention. Forests take carbon out of the atmosphere and so are an important part in the fight against climate change.
So wanting to be seen to be ‘doing something’, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the G7 countries were donating £16m to help tackle the Amazon fire.
What exactly this money will be spent on doesn’t seem to have been made exactly clear to the press.
One Guardian report said it was primarily to give to Brazil and Bolivia so that they can buy more firefighting planes. Another said it was for reforestation. Presumably, it’s for both.
Regardless, this pledge is meaningless for two reasons.
First, saving the Amazon doesn’t require money. It requires political will from the Brazilian government.
Brazil’s new fascist president Jair Bolsonaro has reduced the enforcement of environmental protections, thus increasing the chances of these fires. He has also encouraged deforestation and mining.
The Amazon is not burning because the Brazilian government can’t afford to save it. It’s burning because the Brazilian government doesn’t want to save it.
Second, even if money was required, £16m is almost nothing. It’s much less than is spent on hosting a G7 conference for example.
How far would it go when spent on firefighting planes and reforestation?
A DC-10 firefighting plane costs about £8m. So £16m is enough for two with nothing left to spare for reforestation.
And the planting of the UK’s Northern Forest, which will stretches from Liverpool to Hull, is expected to cost £500m So £16m is unlikely to go far in the Amazon.
As was to be expected, Bolsonaro declined the G7’s offer of assistance. So the amount was irrelevant in the end. However, the miserly number was still a further insult to the Amazon.
All in all then, while the Amazon fires have been a disaster for the world, they’ve been good for the world’s leaders.
The likes of Macron and Johnson have promoted their environmental credentials while Bolsonaro has appealed to his base, who like to see him as a nationalist strongman.
Joe Lo is a freelance journalist and a reporter for Left Foot Forward
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One Response to “The G7’s Amazon pledge is a cheap publicity stunt”
steve
The pledge, along with Macron’s tantrum, is window dressing.
The new South America-EU trade deal will be implemented just as soon as the dust settles. Of itself, with increased beef import provision, the EU trade deal provides for more Amazon rain forest destruction.
#elitestitchup