Brazil’s Amazon deforestation surges to worst in 15 years

By DAVID BILLER
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The area deforested in Brazil’s Amazon region reached a 15-year record after a 22% increase from the prior year, according to official data published Thursday. The Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometers of rainforest in the 12-month reference period from Aug. 2020 to July 2021. That’s the most since 2006. The 15-year high flies in the face of Bolsonaro government’s recent attempts to shore up its environmental credibility, making overtures to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and moving forward its commitment to end illegal deforestation at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow this month.