Author: Louis Genot

Rio de Janeiro – The Brazilian Amazon faced a devastating 61% increase in wildfires in the first half of this year, marking the worst figure in two decades according to satellite data revealed on Monday. The spike is attributed to a historic drought that struck the world’s largest tropical rainforest last year. While deforestation in the Amazon has decreased by 42%, the number of fires continues to rise, posing a challenge for President Lula da Silva’s administration. Lula has vowed to halt illegal deforestation by 2030, following a surge under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Greenpeace’s Romulo Batista points to climate…