MANAUS, BRAZIL — The fate of the Amazon rainforest hangs in the balance as Brazil's government, led by President Jair Bolsonaro, this year allowed a 9.5% yearly increase in deforestation of the world's last great wilderness. <br /><br />As reported by Reuters, this increase is especially worrisome, as it follows on a whopping 34% increase in 2019, which was Bolsonaro's first year as president. <br /><br />This means that the total area that had been deforested in 2020 is the highest it's been in 12 years.<br /><br />It also means that Brazil will miss its own target, established under a 2009 climate-change law, to reduce annual deforestation to about 3,900 square kilometers. <br /><br />The 2020 figure of 11,088 square kilometers is a massive 7,200 square kilometers more than this target of 3,900.<br /><br />The Amazon is the world's last big rainforest, and its protection is crucial to stopping catastrophic climate change, because of the vast amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs.<br /><br />The Brazilian NGO, Climate Observatory, says the huge increase in deforestation reflects Bolsonaro's efforts to hamper inspection bodies that fight deforestation and land theft in the Amazon.
