In response to the G7 leaders’ vow to fight the human-caused forest fires raging through the Amazon rainforest, Amazon Watch called on the international community to take shared responsibility for the fires and take immediate steps for the protection and preservation of the planet.
Amazon Watch Program Director, Christian Poirier, said:
“While the raging fires in the Amazon have rightfully grabbed the attention of the G7 leaders, we must ensure a long-term global response that lasts long after these headlines pass.
“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro must take immediate, comprehensive steps to not only extinguish these fires but also address the root causes of this environmental catastrophe: the roll-back of environmental and indigenous rights protections and the recklessness of the profit-seeking agribusiness industry.
“This burden isn’t on the Brazilian government alone. We are all global citizens of our shared planet and must take shared responsibility for its preservation. As such, American and European corporations must take responsibility for their complicity in this tragedy by encouraging and funding deforestation in Brazil. We must keep the pressure on the Brazilian government to ensure the protection of the Amazon and its native peoples, who are on the front lines of defending the rainforest, and look inward to do our part in protecting our rainforests and planet for generations to come.”
