A new study published in Nature has found that the first half of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency was so destructive for the Amazon that it was comparable to the record 2016 El Niño drought and heatwave in terms of carbon emissions.
According to the study, annual emissions from the world’s largest rainforest roughly doubled in 2019 and 2020, compared with the 2010 to 2018 average, as swaths of forest were deliberately cleared and burned for cattle ranching and farming during the first two years of the far-right leader’s time in office.
The study found that the rise in emissions under Bolsonaro had little to do with natural processes, but was instead caused by the systematic removal and downgrading of environmental law enforcement in Brazil, while the amount of carbon that the Amazon absorbs and emits changes with weather cycles, generally sucking in more in wet years and less in dry periods.
It found that under Bolsonaro, the number and severity of fines for illegal deforestation by Brazilian authorities fell dramatically while fires and land-clearing soared. Carbon emissions increased from an annual average of 0.24 gigatonnes from 2010-18 to 0.44GtC in 2019 and 0.55GtC respectively.
Produced by many of the scientists who first established that the Amazon is now emitting more CO2 than it is able to absorb, the analysis warns that new areas of the forest have become a rising source of emissions, particularly the western Amazon, one of the most pristine parts of the basin, which has been targeted by land invaders and illegal miners.
Read also: Study shows tropical forests face ‘massive leaf death’ from global heating.
It adds to fears that the Amazon, which plays an important role in regulating the world’s climate, is approaching a tipping point after which it will no longer be able to sustain itself, which would have profound consequences for biodiversity and the climate.
In her reaction, Luciana Gatti, at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil, who led the research, said: “Bolsonaro was a Brazilian El Niño. The analysis suggests there is no reason for the big emissions from the Amazon apart from the dismantling of law enforcement.
“In this paper, we bring together the science measuring carbon emissions, the deforestation and fire monitoring, law enforcement and economic factors: everything that is involved in the process of destroying the Amazon. After we observed all these factors, it was just a simple step to say, ‘You are the guy, you are the responsible one for these big emissions from the Amazon.’ It’s an amazing and a very sad story,” she said.
According to reports, the latest research is based on vertical profile measurements of emissions from small planes at four sites in the Brazilian Amazon, taking CO2 readings from 500m to 4,500m.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
