Environment minister advocates stiffer penalties for arson

Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva considered the penalties laid down in Brazilian law for environmental crimes such as arson to be inadequate.

“The sentence of two to four years in prison is light. When the sentence is light, it is sometimes transformed into some kind of alternative sentence. And some judges go further and completely relax this sentence,” she argued.

The statement was made during her appearance on Canal Gov’s Bom Dia Ministra program on Tuesday (Sep. 17) in Brasília. The minister also stressed that, at the moment, any forest fire is characterized as criminal and represents a threat to the environment, public health, property, and the Brazilian economy.

“There is a nationwide ban on the use of fire. The last states to issue a fire ban decree were Rondônia and Pará, about a week and a half ago,” she reported.

Extreme drought

Of all 27 Brazilian states, only Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina are not facing an extreme drought these days, the minister pointed out. “It’s as if we had a risk situation all over the country,” she said.

In her view, criminals are taking advantage of climate change—which has caused high temperatures and extreme weather events—to set fires and cause the current situation in Brazil. “There is a criminal alliance between political ideologies that want to deny the issue of climate change,” she claimed.

Minister Silva went on to say that toughening the penalty for setting fires with criminal intent is being discussed in the government’s situation room, adding that there are bills pending in Congress to make this type of crime heinous.

Investigation

To Minister Silva’s judgment, investigating this type of crime is complex due to the speed with which the fire spreads during a drought spell, but efforts must be made to punish both the criminals and the masterminds.

“President Lula called the chief [Supreme Court] Justice Barroso in a bid to ensure legal support so this investigation can take place more quickly and we have all the coordination by Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski,” she declared.

The intelligence service, she wen on to say, has proved key to solving arson in forest areas. The Federal Police have opened 52 inquiries into fire ignition points in different regions of Brazil.

“Satellite monitoring is being carried out, and we can look back to find out where the ignition started and get to the original perpetrator,” she remarked.

Addressing the problem

The federal government is said to have been working on a plan since 2023 to deal with the drought, aggravated as it is by climate change.

Resources have been made available from the Amazon Fund, totaling more than BRL 47 million, so that states can reinforce fire department teams. In addition, the pantanal biome has also been granted BRL 175 million in extraordinary credit to fight the fires. “The government is working on releasing further extraordinary credit for the Amazon and other states,” Minister Silva said.

In addition to the resources, the minister also said that President Lula had announced a provisional measure to create the Legal Statute for Climate Emergencies, which should enable the anticipation of emergency situations, currently only recognized after a climate catastrophe.