Brazil Blasts Offer of G7 Aid for Amazon Fires, Citing Notre Dame Blaze
Retort also suggested Europeans use the money to reforest their lands.
The recent G7 economic summit included exchanges between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and French President Emmanuel Macron that was nearly as heated as the Amazon wildfires.
During the summit, the G7 nations had agreed to send aid to fight the fires in the Amazon. Brazil rejected that offer, with a concise reminder about the Notre Dame blaze and European deforestation.
At a summit in France on Monday, the Group of Seven nations pledged $20 million to help fight the flames in the Amazon and protect the rainforest, in addition to a separate $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada.
Onyx Lorenzoni, the Brazilian president’s chief of staff, sharpened the criticism, saying Europe should use the funds for its own reforestation. Then he referred to Notre Dame, the medieval monument in Paris that was ravaged by fire in April, shocking the world.
“Macron could not avoid an obvious fire in a church that is a world heritage site,” Lorenzoni said, according to Brazil’s G1 news website.
The South American officials make a profound point. Deforestation in Brazil declined by 70% from 2004 to 2012 and is currently 62% forested. On the other hand, Europe has been substantially deforested through its history, losing over 50% in 6000 years of history.
Bolsonaro is now mulling over whether to accept the money.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he will think about accepting offers of international aid to fight raging fires in the Amazon region if French President Emmanuel Macron apologizes for comments he deemed offensive.
Bolsonaro said Tuesday that Macron called him a liar, and accused the French president of questioning Brazil’s sovereignty amid tensions over fires in the region — which Macron described as an issue “for the whole planet.”
The diplomatic tensions escalated, thanks to a social media exchange involving Macron’s wife.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro as “extremely disrespectful” after the South American leader appeared to mock his wife, Brigitte Macron, in a Facebook post.
In a post on Bolsonaro’s Facebook page, a user posted a meme comparing the appearance of the Brazilian president’s wife with that of the French first lady, and implying that Macron was jealous. “Don’t humiliate the guy … haha,” read the reply from Bolsonaro’s account.
The good news in this exchange: The press did not accuse President Trump of being the worst bully during the summit.
However, that is not to say Trump received high praise for his trade deals or diplomacy. For example, there was pearl-clutching over a missed climate change session.
On Monday, before the close of the G7 meetings in France, the heads of those nations gathered to talk about climate change and what could be done to address the warming of our planet. Donald Trump didn’t go.
“The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the Administration attended in his stead,” press secretary Stephanie Grisham said by way of explanation for Trump’s absence.
Additionally, Macron said the U.S. did not join charter against online hate speech.
“We formalized an agreement for the first time with several Anglo-Saxon and European platforms and with support from nearly all (G7) countries,” Macron told reporters after the summit, which was held in southwestern France.
“We had a very good discussion with the United States, which for legal reasons was not able to formalize the agreement on this point,” Macron said, adding he was hopeful it could be done in the coming weeks.
In a nutshell, it appears that the G7 summit shows that conservative leaders are fighting back with snark and robust public policies. Of course, the American press will portray the event as anything but a success.
The G7 in France was so successful, and yet when I came back and read the Corrupt and Fake News, and watched numerous networks, it was not even recognizable from what actually took place at the Great G7 event!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2019
Hopefully, the summit organizers will take Trump up on his offer to hold the next G7 at a Trump resort. The press head explosions would be epic.
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Comments
Maybe the real Amazon is Brigitte Macron, the older powerful woman who dominates her former pupil, little Emmanuel.
Point about reforesting Europe is excellent. Why should this be just Brazil’s job, to leave so much of its land as forest?
France seems to think Brazil is their penal colony.
I’m sure enviro’s are certain that the US must be *Horrible!!!* in the deforestation. They would be quite surprised to learn that Texas, for example, has over a million acres MORE forest today than it had in the 1930’s.
When my German in-laws and Irish relatives come over for a visit, they are all shocked at how rural the U.S. is. SHOCKED!
They all expect our country to be one big strip mall. with a couple of parks here and there.
I’ve read that there are more trees in the US right now than in the days of the colonies. There is no tree crisis and the claim that trees were so dense back then that a squirrel could travel from east coast to west coast without ever touching the ground were greatly exaggerated. There are more trees now in Pasadena and San Marino today than ever before, for instance.
EU hypocrites busted for virtue signalling to hide their lack of virtue.
Leslie Eastman: Deforestation in Brazil declined by 70% from 2004 to 2012 and is currently 62% forested. On the other hand, Europe has been substantially deforested through its history, losing over 50% in 6000 years of history.
On the other hand, after WII, Europe engaged in a vast afforestation program, and their forests have grown by a third since WWII.
Leslie Eastman: The diplomatic tensions escalated, thanks to a social media exchange involving Macron’s wife.
There is no excuse in defending a vile personal attack against someone’s spouse, not when done by Bolsonaro, not when done by Trump.
Leslie Eastman: For example, there was pearl-clutching over a missed climate change session. “The President had scheduled meetings and bilaterals with Germany and India, so a senior member of the Administration attended in his stead”
They lied. Germany and India were at the climate meeting.
artichoke: Why should this be just Brazil’s job, to leave so much of its land as forest?
It’s not, which is why the G7 offered to help.
“”There is no excuse in defending a vile personal attack against someone’s spouse, not when done by Bolsonaro, not when done by Trump. “”
Absolutely correct, so tell your “friends” in the media to lay off of Melania Trump.
txvet2: Absolutely correct, so tell your “friends” in the media to lay off of Melania Trump.
It’s not appropriate to use misogynistic language or imagery to criticize anyone. As a public person, however, people have the right to criticize her public behavior.
Bolsonaro’s criticism was not that Macron’s wife was unattractive (she looks very good even for a woman younger than 66) but that Macron married a woman old enough to be his mother, that Macron is a small man with an Oedipus complex. That’s the insult and Macron deserves it for being so condescending. He is like my neighbor’s tiny dog that never ever stops barking. I would stomp that dog given a chance.
Pasadena Phil: Bolsonaro’s criticism was not that Macron’s wife was unattractive (she looks very good even for a woman younger than 66) but that Macron married a woman old enough to be his mother, that Macron is a small man with an Oedipus complex.
In other words, Bolsonaro is insulting Macron for having married an older woman. That’s rudely personal and misogynistic.
No, he’s insulting him for marrying his grandma.
40 and 15 when they met.
You commies are such hypocrites.
Yeah, that’s what I figured.
Oh look, comrade Zach is back to push the communist manifesto.
The virtue signaling euroweenies are so wonderful, offering to help out the poor Brazilians with their pledge of 20 million. Really, 20 million for an economy ranked #9 in world GDP.
Nice jester. No thanks says the #9 economic system, save it for your own tree’s.
I, for one, enjoy his presence.
It’s fun to see those wheels slip and slide from the hard spin.
I am thinking that the Zachriel band of Soros-paid trolls had the summer off, now they are back in college….taking a break between their gender studies and anti-western history courses.
Personally, I enjoy retorts immensely…so I am not too sad.
No, the EU is not offering to help by leaving more of its land to forest. It’s offering to help make sure as much forest as possible remains in Brazil.
This is not what I was referring to, and it’s easy to see that.
artichoke: the EU is not offering to help by leaving more of its land to forest.
Europe has been engaged in a vast afforestation program, and their forests have grown by a third since WWII.
WWI and WWII weren’t good for trees so there’s that.
WW2 was more than 70 years ago.
Pasadena Phil: WWI and WWII weren’t good for trees so there’s that.
No, but Europe has more forest now than before the world wars.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2014/12/europe-changes-2.jpg
Zachriel: Europe had been going through deforestation long before the world wars. Having 1/3 more trees today than even before the world wars is not much of an accomplishment.
On the other hand, the US, in fact North America, may today have more trees than it ever had in history. That is really saying something.
Pasadena Phil: Having 1/3 more trees today than even before the world wars is not much of an accomplishment.
Of course it’s a significant accomplishment, and the afforestation program is ongoing.
The question raised was that Europe should do their share. They have and they are. They have planted new forests, offered to contribute to firefighting in Brazil, invested in green technology, etc.
More specifically, artichoke falsely claimed, “the EU is not offering to help by leaving more of its land to forest.”
The E.U. even has a forestry department.
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/paris_protocol/forestry_en
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
“The question raised was that Europe should do their share. They have and they are. They have planted new forests, offered to contribute to firefighting in Brazil, invested in green technology, etc.”
Euroweenies never do their share. They virtue signal and that’s it. They always want someone else to pick up the tab for their stupidity.
They offered a pittance to the worlds 9th largest economy. Virtue signaling.
Green technology investment. Virtue signaling. They have to turn to their brother commies in Russia for gas to burn.
Macron is a pathetic and hated individual in his own country. He should concentrate on eliminating the car-b-ques in his own country.
Satellite information confirms that the current fires are about average for this time of year and are primarily over existing pasture and fallow farm land being prepared for planting.
As for the G7 bio-diversity meeting Trump missed, I not that in spite of the meeting missing a notorious skeptic, Trump, it produced no agreement on anything. It was for show.
After the G7, Trump had a whole series of 20 minute press conferences with many of the other leaders there. So much energy to do all that, he’s a rare talent.
And there he talked about what was accomplished, what was left to be done, etc. He had a very nice one with Angela Merkel for example.
My information may be out of date (it’s from the mid-70s), but Europe had plenty of trees at that time. They had a LOT more people in the US, with a much higher population density, but there were trees and parks everywhere.
It was all cultivated, of course. Europe lost the wild look so long ago, that they were fascinated by paintings of the Americas when our country was young.
Nevertheless, Europe has a lot of trees, and Germany has the Black Forest, which is essentially a tree farm, with trees planted at such precise locations that you can see the diagonals when driving on the autobahn. Also, there is no undergrowth. Seriously, none.
European forests in Germany and Britain are noted for the lack of undergrowth and having mono-species. Wildlife density as a consequence is less than 1/5 of what it should be (historical). They failed to plant fruit, nuts and seeds. In particular walnuts,hazelnuts and oaks. They are idiots. BTW, our timber industry does the same practice. On purpose. And it should not be allowed.
That was a Brexit-type statement by Brazil: “Stay the hell out of our business! You all have bad fires that you don’t anticipate.” Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease, when it damages your sovereignty.
The dust up over fires in the Amazon is a propaganda campaign. The Amazon has fires every year. A small percentage are deliberately set with the goal of deforestation in a specific location in order to develop. Most fires have natural causes.
The larger issue is the globalist contingent presuming to tell a sovereign nation, Brazil, what, how and when to act. Coupled with the inherent hypocrisy of the environmental movement;
‘Stop buying and driving SUV and turn your thermostat to 85 degrees to cool your modest middle class home’ and ‘pay no attention to me flying private aircraft between my coastal mansions, to Davos and various climate change conferences’.
Brazil is a mostly first world nation. They aren’t going to be lectured to.
How can Europe reforest their lands? They want to cut the CO2 that trees need!