Rising greenhouse gas emissions, excessive use of pesticides, the ever-accelerating destruction of the rainforest: a new study shows how damaging the presidency of right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaros is for the climate.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro wants to be re-elected in the fall. It is still difficult to assess how good the right-wing politician’s chances are at the moment, but one thing seems certain: Bolsonaro’s re-election would be devastating for climate and environmental protection. This conclusion can be drawn from a new study published by the environmental organization Greenpeace this Monday, which was previously available to the SZ. In it, the authors draw a comprehensive environmental assessment of the Bolsonaro government, which has now been in office for three years.
Not just the destruction of Amazon rainforest has therefore increased drastically, between July 2020 and August 2021 it was 13,235 square kilometers three quarters higher than three years earlier. Greenhouse gas emissions have also increased: in 2020, Brazil emitted 2.16 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the highest level since 2006. For comparison: Germany emitted 739 million tons in 2020, i.e. about a third compared to Brazil.
What was largely unknown until now was that the use of environmentally harmful pesticides increased sharply under Bolsonaro. According to the study, 1,500 new funds have been approved since he took office, more than ever before, and there are also records for the quantities used. These include pesticides that are not permitted in the EU, such as the herbicide atrazine. Whether the drug is harmful to humans is controversial.
The supporters of the right-wing populist care little about environmental issues. More like gun laws
The authors show in detail how Bolsonaro weakened the Brazilian environmental protection authorities. The Ministry of the Environment and the important state institutes Ibama (natural resources) and Chico Mendes (biodiversity) lost a tenth of their staff; In addition, the budgets of the institutes were each cut by around 30 percent. The Environment Ministry’s overall budget is the lowest it has been since 2010. According to Greenpeace, conflicts over land and threats to indigenous people have also increased significantly.
The environment suffered particularly badly during his tenure, according to a Greenpeace report: Jair Bolsonaro wants to be re-elected as Brazil’s president in the fall.
(Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO/REUTERS)
It is doubtful, however, whether Bolsonaro’s devastating environmental record has what it takes to harm him in his re-election project. Climate protection has also become more important in Brazil and is being demanded at demonstrations – but almost exclusively by young, left-wing residents of metropolises such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, who tend not to vote for Bolsonaro anyway. His supporters are interested in other things: They are in favor of relaxing gun laws, against gender-sensitive language and against the “caste” of established politicians. A key success factor in Bolsonaro’s election three years ago was that, like Donald Trump, he was perceived as an outsider.
After four years at the head of state, the far-right can no longer claim to be an outsider. His support ratings are currently low, mainly because many Brazilians are unhappy with poor corona management and worsening poverty. Left-wing ex-president Lula da Silva is currently the clear leader in the polls for the election. Bolsonaro is now trying to take countermeasures: the president has promised the population new social benefits and wants to increase the salaries of all civil servants. After all, there is still some time before the election in autumn.