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Brazilian officials on Thursday announced a sharp drop in deforestation rates, pushing back on one of the arguments that the Trump administration used last week to justify\u00a0additional tariffs\u00a0on the\u00a0South American country.<\/p>\n
In May, Amazon deforestation was 61.4% lower than in the same month in 2025, according to officials from the National Institute for Space Research, or INPE, and the Ministry of Environment.<\/p>\n
Still, 370 square kilometers (nearly 143 square miles) of the rainforest were cleared. Deforestation over the same period fell 12% in the Cerrado, a\u00a0savanna in central Brazil\u00a0that has long been under pressure from the powerful agribusiness sector.<\/p>\n
Environment Minister Jo\u00e3o Paulo Capobianco said that the figure is the lowest ever recorded for May, and that Brazil is on track to reach its lowest annual levels once the data is consolidated next semester.<\/p>\n
He said that the month typically sees higher deforestation, because it marks the start of the Amazon\u2019s dry season. In the 10 months from August 2025 to May 2026, deforestation in the Amazon already fell by 37.5%, compared with the same previous period.<\/p>\n
On June 2, the Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on\u00a0imports from Brazil, saying that the world\u2019s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are \u201cunreasonable\u201d and that \u201cburden or restrict U.S. commerce.\u201d The announcement came after an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that accused Brazil of illegal deforestation and unfair tariffs of its own, among other things.<\/p>\n
Capobianco said that the deforestation figures \u201cdebunk the unfair and unfounded accusation by the United States, which cited deforestation to justify imposing tariffs.\u201d President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva nodded as he listened to the remarks.<\/p>\n
Lula said that the Trump administration lied when they first imposed additional tariffs on Brazil last year, saying that the U.S. had a trade deficit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now they raised questions about deforestation. They don\u2019t understand the work we are doing to bring deforestation down to zero by 2030. This is not a decision by any COP or by the United Nations. It is a decision of our government,\u201d the Brazilian president said, using the acronym for U.N. climate conferences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a matter of justice, of Brazil\u2019s contribution to the planet, fulfilling our obligation to avoid deforestation as much as possible. Preventing deforestation benefits Brazil, benefits the Amazon and benefits the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deforestation is the leading driver of Brazil\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.<\/p>\n
The Amazon, the world\u2019s largest rainforest, also plays a critical role in regulating the climate far beyond South America. Scientists warn that forest loss could accelerate global warming and disrupt agriculture as far away as the U.S. Midwest and parts of Europe.<\/p>\n
After reaching record levels in the 1990s and 2000s, deforestation declined until the 2019-2022 term of then\u00a0President Jair Bolsonaro, whose government was widely criticized for weakening environmental protections. Under Lula\u2019s administration, deforestation has fallen again, reaching its\u00a0lowest level in a decade\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n
Despite gains in keeping forest standing, however,\u00a0many other threats, ranging from climate change to potential legislation on the horizon, are putting the forest at risk.<\/p>\n
Forest degradation, driven by wildfires, logging and drought, affects about 40% of the Amazon and has outpaced clear-cutting in recent years. All of this could be exacerbated this year with a strong El Ni\u00f1o, a cyclic warming of the equatorial Pacific, which causes higher temperatures and drier weather in the rainforest, conditions that worsen wildfires.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s\u00a0standards\u00a0for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at\u00a0AP.org.<\/p>\n
#Trump #turned #environmentalist #slap #tariffs #Brazil #deforestation #rates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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