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Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China bans Brazilian poultry imports over avian influenza
BEIJING, May 30 (Reuters) - China banned the imports of poultry and related products from Brazil over an avian influenza outbreak, the customs administration said in a notice released on its website dated May 29. Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter, confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a commercial poultry farm in its southernmost state earlier this month, triggering a slew of international trade bans. The Brazilian government had previously asked top buyer China to restrict its embargo to poultry products just from the city where the outbreak occurred.
Associated Press
17-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Mexico, Chile and Uruguay halt poultry imports from Brazil after bird flu outbreak
SAO PAULO (AP) — Mexico, Chile and Uruguay have halted poultry imports from Brazil after the country confirmed its first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm, authorities said Saturday. On Friday, Brazil's Agriculture and Livestock ministry said China and the European Union had halted poultry imports from Brazil. Mexico's National Service for Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality said in a statement Saturday that it suspended temporarily the import of chicken meat, fertile eggs, live birds and other poultry products from Brazil as a precautionary measure. Chile and Uruguay have also halted poultry imports, Luis Rua, secretary of international trade at Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, told local news service Broadcast Agro. Brazil is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of global chicken meat production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An egg shortage in the United States following a bird flu outbreak there boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by more than 1,000% between January and April 2025, compared to the same period the previous year, according to trade data from the Brazilian government. Brazilian authorities said Friday the virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, adding that a contingency plan has been implemented 'not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector's productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population.' The agriculture ministry also said it notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil's trade partners. Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from — for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak. Brazilian chicken exports have previously faced resistance over sanitary concerns. In 2018, the European Union temporarily banned imports of chicken from 20 Brazilian plants due to concerns about salmonella. Brazil brought the case to the World Trade Organization. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Globe and Mail
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
The construction of a road in Brazil draws criticism before first-ever climate talks in the Amazon
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — In the run-up to the annual U.N. climate conference, set to take place in Brazil's Amazon in November, the construction of a road is drawing attention, with critics arguing it will lead to environmental degradation. Before the talks, called COP30, the state government of Para is building a 13-kilometer (8-mile) avenue designed to ease traffic on a major highway that runs parallel. The road was planned long before Belem, a metropolitan area of 2.5 million people that sits on the edge of the Amazon, was chosen as conference host. That hasn't spared it sharp criticism, however, because the road is expected to cut across the last remnants of rainforest in Belem. Road building in the Amazon, which historically has often led to deforestation and development of surrounding areas, also stands in stark contrast to a central aim of climate conferences, and in particular this one: conservation of biodiversity. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has made the slowing of deforestation a central focus of his administration, has frequently boasted that this will be the first such conference in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon is key to regulating the climate, because trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that heats the planet when released into the atmosphere. 'We will hold the best COP in history because the topic of all the ones held in other countries was the Amazon," Lula said while visiting Belem worksites in February. 'This one will be in the Amazon.' An official project map shows a straight line dividing a green area through the city's outskirts. This protected area is slightly larger than Manhattan. It was designated in 1993 to protect two lakes, a river basin and to restore a degraded rainforest. However, its rules allow private properties, government-approved deforestation and public works. Two university campuses are located within its limits. 'Even with measures to reduce the damage, there are tough issues to address,' said Roberta Rodrigues, a professor of architecture at the Federal University of Para. 'It's hard to imagine a road being built along the banks of the Guama River without it leading to illegal development. It may lead to the end of this protected area." The project dates back to 2020. Construction began in mid-2024, despite criticism over its impact on one of the city's few remaining green areas. The project drew wider attention in March, when the BBC reported that the avenue was "being built for COP30.' As the story was picked up by news outlets around the world, Brazil's government issued a statement saying the avenue wasn't among the 33 infrastructure projects planned for COP30. In a statement to The Associated Press, the state government of Para said that the avenue, named Liberdade, or Freedom, will be an expressway and development around it won't be permitted. The chaotic growth of Brazilian cities, however, suggests it's a promise that will be hard to keep. Countless public areas have been occupied for the irregular construction of housing — from modest structures to luxury condos — with the expectation that they will eventually be legalized, which often ends up happening. Belem is the capital of Para, which is run by Gov. Helder Barbalho, a politician from a traditional family who is an ally of Lula. Both support oil drilling in the nearby mouth of the Amazon River, likely a point of contention during COP30. The road is scheduled to be inaugurated just before the conference kicking off on Nov. 10. ___
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
COP30 Brazilian presidency calls for new global climate governance
By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) -The Brazilian presidency of COP30, this year's climate summit, called for new global climate governance mechanisms to help nations implement their commitments to curb global warming, according to a letter it released on Thursday. The summit, to be hosted in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Accord, when signatories agreed to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Though nations have so far committed to plans that would limit warming to around 2.6 degrees Celsius, many are struggling to get their proposals off the drawing board and to lower carbon emissions enough to stop the planet from heating to catastrophic levels. According to the letter by the COP30 presidency, "the international community should investigate how climate cooperation could become better equipped to accelerate" implementation. The proposal was first introduced by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last November, during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, Lula proposed creating a "United Nations climate change council" to help countries implement commitments they made to address climate change as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. "There's no point in negotiating new commitments if we don't have an effective mechanism to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement," Lula said. "We need stronger climate governance." The proposal has now been adopted by Brazilian ambassador Andre Correa do Lago, who will preside over COP30. Correa do Lago argued that, after decades of debates, the Climate Convention, known as the UNFCCC, has completed necessary negotiations but lacks implementation capacity. "The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement don't have the strength or mandate to take this forward, so we're proposing to reconsider how we can institutionally strengthen implementation," Lago told journalists on Wednesday. The COP Presidency letter suggests that the United Nations General Assembly, not COP30 itself, should be the forum for this discussion. "Debates at the U.N. General Assembly could explore innovative governance approaches to endow international cooperation with capabilities for rapid sharing of data, knowledge and intelligence, as well as for leveraging networks, aggregating efforts and articulating resources, processes, mechanisms and actors within and outside the U.N.," the letter states. Sources in the Brazilian government told Reuters that while the creation of a U.N. Climate Council features in Lula's diplomatic discussions with world leaders, immediate results are not anticipated in the short term. "It's still an initial convincing effort," one source said. (Reporting and writing by Lisandra Paraguassu, editing by Manuela Andreoni and Lincoln Feast.)
