Bolsonaro tells UN Brazil is committed to environmental protection

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has risen sharply since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, although preliminary satellite data suggest clearing so far this year was little changed https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/deforestation-brazils-amazon-falls-second-month-remains-high-2021-09-10 from the same period of 2020. Bolsonaro also said Brazil's vaccination campaign against COVID-19 had been successful and that by November all adults who wanted a vaccine would be fully inoculated. The president, a vaccine skeptic, proudly claims to have refused the shot for himself so far.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told the United Nation's General Assembly on Tuesday that his country's environmental laws should serve as a model for the world, reinforcing his government's commitment to eliminating illegal deforestation.

The far-right leader, who has pushed to open more of the Amazon rainforest to mining and agriculture, has come under criticism for surging deforestation under his government. But in a conciliatory tone, he told the UN that his government was taking the protection of the Amazon seriously and doubling funding for environmental enforcement to combat illegal deforestation.

The Amazon is a vital natural bulwark against climate change, absorbing and storing huge quantities of carbon, and scientists are increasingly worried by the rate of its destruction. Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has risen sharply since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, although preliminary satellite data suggest clearing so far this year was little changed https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/deforestation-brazils-amazon-falls-second-month-remains-high-2021-09-10 from the same period of 2020.

Bolsonaro also said Brazil's vaccination campaign against COVID-19 had been successful and that by November all adults who wanted a vaccine would be fully inoculated. The president, a vaccine skeptic, proudly claims to have refused the shot for himself so far.