Latest news with #ManuelaAndreoni
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amazon fires drive unprecedented global forest loss in 2024, report says
By Manuela Andreoni and Alexander Villegas SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Massive fires fueled by climate change led global forest loss to smash records in 2024, according to a report issued on Wednesday. Loss of tropical pristine forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres), an 80% spike compared to 2023 and an area roughly the size of Panama, mainly because Brazil, the host of the next global climate summit in November, struggled to contain fires in the Amazon amid the worst drought ever recorded in the rainforest. A myriad of other countries, including Bolivia and Canada, were also ravaged by wildfires. It was the first time the annual report, issued by the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland, showed fires as the leading cause of tropical forest loss, a grim milestone for a naturally humid ecosystem that is not supposed to burn. "The signals in these data are particularly frightening," said Matthew Hansen, the co-director of a lab at the University of Maryland that compiled and analyzed the data. "The fear is that the climate signal is going to overtake our ability to respond effectively." Latin America was hit particularly hard, the report said, with the Amazon biome hitting its highest level of primary forest loss since 2016. Brazil, which holds the largest share of the world's tropical forests, lost 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres), the most of any country. It was a reversal of the progress made in 2023 when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office promising to protect the world's largest rainforest. 'This was unprecedented, which means we have to adapt all our policy to a new reality,' said Andre Lima, who oversees deforestation control policies for Brazil's Ministry of Environment, adding that fire, which was never among the leading causes of forest loss, is now a top priority for the government. Bolivia overtook the Democratic Republic of Congo as the second country with the most tropical forest loss despite having less than half the amount of forest as the African nation, which also saw a spike in forest loss last year. Bolivia's forest loss surged by 200% in 2024, with a drought, wildfires and a government-incentivized agricultural expansion as the leading causes. Across Latin America, the report noted similar trends in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Conflicts in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo also boosted deforestation rates, as armed groups used up natural resources. Outside the tropics, boreal forests, which evolved with seasonal fires, also posted record-high tree loss in 2024, with Canada and Russia each losing 5.2 million hectares (12.8 million acres) in 2024 as wildfires got out of control. Southeast Asia bucked the global trend with Malaysia, Laos, and Indonesia all posting double-digit decreases in primary forest loss, as domestic conservation policy, combined with efforts by communities and the private sector, continued to effectively contain fires and agricultural expansion. Another outlier was the Charagua Iyambae Indigenous territory in southern Bolivia, which was able to keep the country's record fires at bay through land-use policies and early warning systems. Rod Taylor, the global director for forests at the WRI, said that as leaders descend on the Amazonian city of Belem for the next climate summit, he would like to see countries make progress in introducing better funding mechanisms for conservation. "At the moment," he said, "there's more money to be paid by chopping forests down than keeping them standing."
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indigenous groups rally in Brasilia to demand land rights
By Manuela Andreoni, Ricardo Brito and Lais Morais BRASILIA (Reuters) - Thousands of Indigenous people from across Brazil are rallying in the nation's capital this week to demand protection for their land rights, fighting legislation that could make it impossible for some tribes to reclaim territory they were forced to leave. Disputes over the 2023 law, backed by the powerful farm lobby, have fomented the protests by Indigenous groups who say it violates their rights to ancestral lands recognized in Brazil's 1988 constitution. The dispute is now in the hands of Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, whom a year ago set up a conciliation chamber for representatives of both Indigenous groups and the farm sector to find common ground. Indigenous umbrella group APIB, which is challenging the law in the court, has left the chamber set up by the Supreme Court, arguing that its existence was disrespectful to the constitutional rights of Brazil's native communities. "What we have there is an attempt to despoil Indigenous rights in various ways," said Mauricio Terena, an APIB lawyer, after he left a meeting with Mendes on Tuesday. Indigenous leaders asked Mendes to disband the chamber and allow the rest of the court's bench to rule on whether the 2023 law limiting their rights is constitutional. But this week both the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate issued letters asking Mendes to keep the conciliation chamber open. In a statement, the justice's office said that "the chamber will not take away any protections to Indigenous peoples," but did not clarify whether the chamber would remain open. A senior Supreme Court source said on condition of anonymity that many Indigenous groups not represented by the protesters have embraced the chamber's discussions, including proposals to organize and allow more economic activities on their lands. At one march in Brasilia this week, Indigenous demonstrators carried a replica of the statue of Justice blindfolded in front of Brazil's Supreme Court, adding an Indigenous headdress. Protesters carried signs decrying the 2023 law and the violence against tribes that they say the legislation has fueled. In Mato Grosso do Sul, for example, a clash between farmers and members of the Guarani Kaiowa group has left several dead in recent years. The group, which was expelled from their land in the 1950s, has been demanding the government demarcates their land as they try to reoccupy it. But during the many decades the Guarani Kaiowa were forced to stay out, several farms were established in the area, setting the stage for violent clashes. "The situation we are going through is massacre, murder, illegal mining and logging," said Norivaldo Mendes, a leader of the Guarani Kaiowá people who took part in the march. "We need our demarcation to guarantee our lives, to guarantee the future of our children."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Love motels and converted ferries: Brazil gets creative to host COP30
By Manuela Andreoni and Lisandra Paraguassu BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - Environmental activists from around the globe have eagerly awaited Brazil's turn hosting the United Nations climate summit, known as COP30, after three years where the conference of world leaders tackling global warming was held in countries without full freedom for public demonstrations. But the so-called "People's COP" may not be as welcoming as they hoped. Sky-high accommodation costs are threatening Brazil's stated goal of inclusion, and the government is racing to multiply the 18,000 beds now available in the Amazonian host city of Belem, turning to motels aimed at amorous couples, ferries that normally ply the rivers, and school classrooms to host visitors. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said his goal in bringing COP30 to the Amazon was to focus the world's attention on a forest that both offers unique solutions to climate change, by locking away planet-warming carbon, and suffers some of its gravest consequences, in the form of wildfires and drought. While many climate change campaigners have celebrated that focus, some have also expressed fears that hosting such a major event may strain the fragile region and compromise the success of the conference. Belem, a port city of 1.3 million on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, is speckled with construction sites. The Brazilian government is pouring some $1 billion into new infrastructure. But much work remains to accommodate an expected 60,000-plus visitors. Two global advocacy groups who declined to be named told Reuters that scouts they hired had found accommodation prices for the November conference were several times higher than what they paid last year in Baku, Azerbaijan. Even the cheapest rooms are going for $400, and they are averaging around $1,500 a night. Lula shrugged off the hotel crunch in a recent visit to Belem, suggesting those who cannot find accommodation should sleep "looking at the sky – it will be wonderful." At the heart of the problem is a question that has become more acute as the annual COP has grown from a gathering of world leaders and diplomats to a sprawling conference mixing activists, businesses and government officials: Who is the U.N. climate summit really for? "It feels like a mundane thing, but it's actually politically very important," said Tasneem Essop, executive director of the Climate Action Network. "The ability to address the accommodation problems can make or break a COP." Civil society groups say their access is key to keeping pressure on negotiators, citing the role of public advocacy in breakthroughs such as the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund in 2022 to channel resources from wealthy nations to address destruction caused by climate change in poorer countries. "Everybody's been waiting for the Brazil COP," Essop said. "For civil society, it is that point where once again we're going to be at the COP with space for our actions." FEW HOTELS, PLENTY OF CREATIVITY Brazil has already shifted the dates for heads of state to attend the summit to the week before the main event, trying to ease pressure on Belem's thin hotel supply. Two hotels are being built and two cruise ships for attendees will be docked in a nearby harbor. Entrepreneurs are hard at work figuring out other creative ways to accommodate the visitors. Businesses are looking to refurbish ferries with high-end suites. Developers plan to use idle land to put up refurbished shipping containers. Schools and churches have been earmarked to serve as hostels. Love motels that usually rent rooms by the hour are being advertised as options for full national delegations. Yorann Costa, the owner of Motel Secreto, said he can tone down the "more sensual mood" of his establishment by removing erotic chairs. "But the poles, for example, I can't take out," he said, adding that the ceiling mirrors would also have to stay. Setting the right price was also tough, he said, because of the fierce speculation around what people were willing to pay. Valter Correia, Brazil's special secretary for COP30, said his office is planning to launch an official booking website within weeks to organize the market. He said his office is also looking for ways to discourage price gouging. Correia said the government expects around 45,000 people to attend COP and that the government has planned enough new accommodation to meet that demand. However, the People's Summit, a side-event run by activist groups, says it expects an additional 15,000. Organizers say they are planning to help with accommodation, for example by building campsites. City and state officials are also encouraging residents to travel and rent out their homes. That has unleashed a gold rush of sorts in Belem. Ads charging hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent apartments and houses for the month of COP have become common. Interviews with landlords, tenants and a building manager revealed dozens of cases of people who were refused renewal of their rental lease so landlords could prepare apartments for COP visitors paying ten times or more the usual rate. Rafaela Rodrigues, a businesswoman who says she was refused renewal of her rental, said she later found the apartment advertised for several times what she used to pay. "It was chaos," she said. "I had 10 days to look for a new place, rent it, move and give back my other apartment."
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
COP30 president cites limits of global climate summits
By Manuela Andreoni and Lisandra Paraguassu (Reuters) - After decades of United Nations climate summits, the model of gathering world leaders to negotiate agreements under complex rules is starting to show its limits, said the president of the next such summit, Brazilian diplomat Andre Correa do Lago. "The Paris Agreement is working, but there is much more to do," he wrote in a letter released on Monday outlining his presidency's vision for the COP30 summit in the Amazon city of Belem in November. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Climate negotiators, he said, should be self-critical and address the "outside perception of talks having lingered for over three decades with meagre results." "We need a new era beyond negotiating talks: we must help put into practice what we have agreed," he wrote. At a press conference, Correa do Lago said the summits held by the UNFCCC, the UN body monitoring compliance with the 2015 Paris Agreement, are the best existing venue for climate negotiations but there are limits to what they can achieve. He said despite its recommendations, the body has no authority over the entities meant to carry them out. Global setbacks have further hampered climate change action. U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and blocked funds to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia, forcing Europe to boost defense spending with resources that might otherwise have been invested in climate solutions. Correa do Lago said Brazil will encourage countries to use other gatherings of world leaders, such as the G20 and the International Monetary Fund meetings, to push for action on global warming. Brazil also aims to give more voice to other actors, such as civil society groups and Indigenous communities, he said. Correa do Lago told reporters he would call two international meetings with global leaders prior to COP30 to discuss countries' pledges to lower emissions of greenhouse gases. The deadline to file new pledges was in February, but only 13 countries presented their contributions.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Streamlined charges against Bolsonaro may speed case ahead of 2026 Brazil vote
By Manuela Andreoni and Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors presented a streamlined version of charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro this week over a plot to overturn his 2022 electoral loss, which could boost the chances of a final ruling before next year's elections. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet divided the 34 alleged coup conspirators into five different criminal complaints "to optimize the progress of legal proceedings," he wrote in a court filing. The complaint against Bolsonaro involves seven others. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. That could mean a dramatic, televised Supreme Court trial gets underway by the middle of the year and potentially wraps up by December, said a person with knowledge of the court's plans. A conviction would add to obstacles keeping Bolsonaro out of the October 2026 presidential election. Prosecutors have not publicly discussed the electoral consequences of the case, but have underscored the alleged threat to Brazil's democracy in the last election. Still, ruling on Bolsonaro's case this year would require extraordinary speed from Brazil's Supreme Court, which is overseeing the case. A criminal case that involved dozens of politicians over a decade ago took the Supreme Court six years from the moment charges were presented until a final ruling. "While it is not impossible, no definitive timeline can be guaranteed," said former Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello. "The court must prioritize proper procedures and rights of the defendants." A panel of five Supreme Court justices is expected to decide as early as April whether it will hear the charges, said the source familiar with their thinking. Some legal experts remain skeptical about a verdict this year. Raquel Scalcon, a criminal law professor at the FGV law school in Sao Paulo, said the justices will be under pressure to move at the right pace. Any appearance of speeding up proceedings to influence the 2026 election could prompt questions about their impartiality, she said. But, she added, given the importance of the case, the court will also be criticized if it moves too slowly. A 2017 study from the FGV law school shows that, on average, it took the court almost four years to conclude cases involving politicians with special standing, once they accepted charges. However, recent rulings, such as the conviction of Bolsonaro supporters who vandalized government buildings after the 2022 election, show the court is able to move quickly when motivated, said Ivar Hartmann, a law professor at Insper in Sao Paulo. "This could mean that they accept the charges in two months, and open the penal case and rule on it by the end of the year," Hartmann said of the judges. Bolsonaro's lawyers, who have denied he provided any support for an alleged coup, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. His attorney Celso Vilardi told TV channel GloboNews that, based on early signals from the Supreme Court, "it seems they want to do something rather quickly." ADDING OBSTACLES Bolsonaro faces five criminal charges, including taking part in an armed criminal organization and attempting a violent overthrow of democratic institutions. While the maximum combined sentences for these crimes could exceed 40 years, Rogerio Taffarello, a lawyer and partner at Sao Paulo-based law office Mattos Filho, said any convictions would likely involve intermediate sentences, totaling 20 to 30 years. The case before the Supreme Court is just one of the barriers to Bolsonaro's stated aim of running for president next year. In 2023, Brazil's federal electoral court barred Bolsonaro from public office until 2030 for abusing his political power in two different instances during his 2022 presidential campaign. But his allies are proposing changes to laws that could, for example, reduce how long a politician can be blocked from running for office. A Supreme Court conviction would add a constitutional barrier to Bolsonaro's electoral goals, and changing that text would be a far steeper legislative challenge. Brazil's constitution bars convicts serving time from running for office. Prosecutors are also expected to present charges on two separate cases in the coming months. Last year, Brazilian police formally accused Bolsonaro of defrauding vaccination records to falsely show he was immunized against COVID-19. Months later, the police also accused Bolsonaro of embezzling jewelry he received while he was president.
