The Brazilian government have said they will reject the offer of aid from G7 states to help battle the wildfires. G7 is the US, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Britain and Canada. French President Emmanuel Macron said $22m (£18m) would be released to help tackle the fires. President Jair Bolsonaro has accused France of treating Brazil like a colony.
Commenting on the G7 offer of aid, Mr Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, told the Globo news website: “Thanks, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe.
“Macron cannot even avoid a predictable fire in a church that is part of the world’s heritage, and he wants to give us lessons for our country?”
Mr Bolsonaro tweeted: “We cannot accept that a president, Macron, unleashes unreasonable attacks on the Amazon, nor disguises his intentions behind the idea of an ‘alliance’ of the G-7 countries to ‘save’ the Amazon, as if we were a colony or a no man’s land.
“Other heads of state sympathised with Brazil, after all respect for the sovereignty of any country is the least that can be expected in a civilised world.”
A record number of blazes have destroyed parts of the rainforests and is causing global concern because of the Amazon’s importance to the environment.
G7 have a plan which will be implemented in two stages.
The Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said: “Countries urgently need firefighters and specialised water bombers. This will be the first step that will be implemented immediately,”
“The second phase is to protect these forests, protect the biodiversity they contain and reforest this region of the world.”
Brazil says 44,000 soldiers have been deployed to tackle the fires and environmental crimes in the Amazon.
The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world therefore it is a vital carbon store. The rainforest slows down the pace of global warming and is known as the “lungs of the world” for its role in absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. It is also home to about three million species of plants and animals and one million indigenous people.
