Brazil is facing climate terrorism, says Environment Minister
Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva said Brazil is experiencing climate terrorism, as people have been using high temperatures and low humidity to set fire to the country, damaging people’s health, biodiversity, and forests.
“There is a nationwide ban on the use of fire, but there are those who are engaging in real climate terrorism,” she said in an interview with media outlets on Saturday (Sep. 14), in the city of São Carlos, São Paulo.
She stressed it is essential that all the engaged public agents continue to act, as these actions have a purpose. Only two states are not experiencing drought, the minister pointed out, further arguing for stricter penalties for those who commit this crime. As it stands today, the penalty ranges from one to four years in prison.
“It is not possible that, in the face of one of the greatest droughts in the entire history of our continent and country, and with a ban in place, people continue to set fires. This causes great harm to public health, the environment, and our production systems, and only aggravates the problem of climate change. When you know that setting a fire is like setting off a barrel or a powder magazine—that is criminal intention,” she said.
Minister Silva pointed out that 17 people have been arrested and 50 inquiries opened. In her view, it is likely that people behind the scenes are encouraging the crimes, which can be uncovered through probes and intelligence work by the Federal Police. She also compared the arson attacks to the attempted coup on January 8, 2023.
“That’s why the work of the Federal Police is crucial. We need to continue investigating, using combined intelligence work, because that’s how we’ll be able to find out where the motivation comes from. I’m practically comparing what’s happening to January 8. These are people acting deliberately to bring chaos to Brazil, setting fire to forests and people’s productive activities.”
The minister pointed out that the damage in São Paulo has amounted to BRL 2 billion for farmers, mainly sugar cane planters. A total of 900 thousand hectares of agricultural areas have been burned, 1.4 million hectares of pastureland and 1 million hectares of forest, she reported.
“A humid forest doesn’t catch fire, because the fire starts and the forest itself manages to put it out. Since we’re already experiencing the effects of climate change, the forest is probably losing moisture, as scientists say, and around 32 percent of the fires are being set intentionally to degrade the forest itself,” she declared.
