Brazil refuses ‘colonial’ aid from G7 to combat Amazon fires

cde.news desk 27 August 2019, 08:11 · 1 min read

epa07787035 A handout picture made available by Rio Branco Firemen shows the fight against the fire in Rio Branco, Amazonian State of Acre, Brazil, 17 August 2019 (issued 22 August 2019). The Brazilian region of the Amazonia has registered over half of the 71,497 fires detected this year between January and August, an 83 percent increase over the the same period last year according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). EPA-EFE/Rio Branco Firemen HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES/NO ARCHIVES

Brazil on Monday rejected aid from G7 countries to fight wildfires in the Amazon, with a top official telling French President Emmanuel Macron to take care of “his home and his colonies.”

Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that the funding would be immediately released, and could be spent on more fire-fighting plane sorties to curb record blazes in the rainforest that have alarmed environmentalists.

Brazil did not immediately provide a reason for refusing the money, but its president Jair Bolsonaro has previously accused Mr Macron of adopting a “colonialist” mindset at the summit of leading developed nations in France.

“We appreciate (the offer), but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe,” Onyx Lorenzoni, chief of staff to President Jair Bolsonaro, told the G1 news website.

Lorenzoni was referring to a $20 million pledge made at the G7 summit in France to fight the rainforest blaze.

via France 24 / The Independent

Topics Amazon Brazil G7