Brazil's Bolsonaro and the Threat of Anti-Environmental Policies

This essay examines the anti-environmental policies of Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, and their implications for the Amazon rainforest and the global environment. The paper argues that Bolsonaro prioritizes economic growth through the exploitation of the Amazon, disregarding its crucial role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity. It discusses Bolsonaro's stance on the Paris Agreement, his plans to merge environmental and agricultural ministries, and the potential for increased deforestation. The essay highlights the Amazon's significance as the "lungs of the world" and the home to diverse species, emphasizing the detrimental effects of Bolsonaro's policies on climate change and the survival of living beings. It draws on various sources to support the claim that Bolsonaro's actions pose a significant threat to the planet's ecological stability and calls for a critical evaluation of his policies.

Running head: JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Is Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro a danger to life on Earth with his Anti-Environment
Policies in Amazonia?
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Abstract
Jair Bolsonaro sees a profitable future ahead for Brazil in terms of economy at the expense of
mass deforestation of the Amazonian forests. The Brazilian president along with his cabinet
view the Rainforest protection policies as a hindrance to the development of their country.
The implications of the policies set by the president and the executive departments under him
will affect the global population in very harmful ways. The Amazonian forests are regarded
as the lungs of the world as they produce around twenty percent of the world’s oxygen. The
Amazonian Rainforest also stores a combined total of twenty five percent of the world’s
carbon. It is on the score of these and other aspects as well the deforestation of the Amazon
rainforest is likely to threaten the existence of all living beings on the planet. Thus, it can be
said that although the decision of Bolsonaro is likely to empower the nation of Brazil
economically but in the end it might very well become the cause of destruction of the entire
planet itself.

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
As opined by Shakow1, one of the most important wicked problems that the world is
presently facing is the evil of climate change which in turn is likely to affect the status quo of
the entire world itself. Codato et al.2 are of the viewpoint that problem of climate change is
not only likely to make the climate of the entire world more erratic but at the same time make
the existence of the humans as well as the other livings more difficult. This is perhaps one of
the major reasons why the national governments of the different nations of the world and also
the United Nations itself is taking diverse initiatives for the resolution of this issue3.
However, it is seen that despite the looming threat of climate change there are various
business firms and also politicians, who are responsible for the addressing different kinds of
wicked problems are completely disregarding the threat posed by the problem of climate
change and global warming. In this regard, mention needs to be made of the present President
of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro who completely disregarding the value of the Amazon forest and the
contribution made by it for the control of carbon emission is trying to use it for commercial
purposes so as to derive economic benefits from it4. President Bolsonaro only has interest in
the economic growth of his country without cause or concern of the implications his actions
will have on the environment. On a global scale, his policies will affect the lives of billions of
people, rich and poor alike. This paper will discuss the implications of this anti-environment
approach taken by Bolsonaro and the damage that will cause to the entire planet itself.
1 Shakow, David. Climate Change and Environmental Ethics. Routledge, 2017.
2 Codato, Daniele, et al. "Oil production, biodiversity conservation and indigenous territories: Towards
geographical criteria for unburnable carbon areas in the Amazon rainforest." Applied Geography 102 (2019):
28-38.
3 Asner, Gregory P., et al. "Large-scale climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf economics
spectrum." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113.28 (2016): E4043-E4051.
4 As-coa.org. "Explainer: Bolsonaro, Brazil, and the Environment | AS/COA". 2019,
<https://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-bolsonaro-brazil-and-environment> [accessed 10 March 2019].

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Jair Bolsonaro, born in 1955 and the present President of Brazil is an active member
of the “conservative Social Liberal Party”5. More importantly, it is seen that the majority of
his political ideas are being inspired by the conservative political ideology of the concerned
party which intends to maximise the profitability of the nation and thereby fortify its
economic strength regardless of the means that had been taken for the achievement of the
same. In this regard, it needs to be said that during his presidential campaign, Bolsonaro
made it thoroughly clear how he was focused on putting his own country’s economic gain
first6. He is also called by the name of “Trump of the Tropics” because of the anti-gay,
violent, misogynists and other kinds of derogatory comments that he makes in the press
conferences7. Prior to his election he had a large following of groups of right-wing people
that backed his views and ideals and this as a matter of fact encouraged him in a significant
manner to pursue as well as implement the radical political ideas which in the longer run is
likely to prove detrimental for the interests of the entire planet. For example, Bolsonaro had
made it clear that in his new ministry he is going to “merge Brazil’s environment and
agriculture ministries” not only for the purpose of better management but at the same time to
derive the maximum amount of economic benefit from the same8. More importantly, it needs
to be said that although Brazil is a signatory member of the Paris Agreement (2017) which
required the different nations as well as the business firms to reduce the amount of harmful
5 Talukdar, S. "Jair Bolsonaro could be a disaster for the environment, scientific research | Brasil de Fato.".
In Brasil de Fato, 2019, <https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/10/27/jair-bolsonaro-could-be-a-disaster-for-
the-environment-scientific-research/> [accessed 10 March 2019].
6 Brueck, H. "Scientists are terrified that Brazil's new president will destroy the 'lungs of the planet'.".
In Business Insider Australia, 2019, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/brazil-president-bolsonaro-destroy-
the-amazon-2018-10?r=US&IR=T> [accessed 10 March 2019].
7 Cbc.ca. "The 'Trump of the Tropics' is now in charge of the lungs of the planet. Here's why that's scary | CBC
Radio". 2019, <https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/nov-3-2018-politics-puts-the-amazon-at-risk-the-problem-with-
probiotics-biggest-bird-was-blind-and-more-1.4887843/the-trump-of-the-tropics-is-now-in-charge-of-the-lungs-
of-the-planet-here-s-why-that-s-scary-1.4887845> [accessed 10 March 2019].
8 Watts, J. "Fears for Amazon as Bolsonaro plans to merge environment and agriculture ministries." In The
Guardian, 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-environment-agriculture-
ministries-amazon> [accessed 10 March 2019].

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
pollutants released by them into the environment by more than 2% yet at many times it had
been seen that Bolsonaro had purposefully neglected the terms of this treaty9. The intended
merger as well as the anti-environmental stance taken by Bolsonaro becomes even more
important because of the unique contributions made by the nation of Brazil towards the planet
and also the natural resources held by it.
Cerri et al.10 are of the viewpoint that the nation of Brazil holds an important place
within the planet not only because of the economic contribution that it makes towards the
world economy but at the same time because of the natural resources that it possess. For
example, the forests like the Amazon rainforest and others as well as the wide diversity of
flora and fauna that the nation boasts of had made the nation of Brazil one of the most
important ones of the world. In this regard, it needs to be said that the Amazon rainforest
covers an area of “2.1 million square miles” which is more than one-third of the entire
world’s rainforest and boasts of more than “2.5 million insect species, 40,000 plants, 1,300
birds, more than 400 mammals, more than 450 reptile species” and others11. Shrivastava et
al.12 have articulated the viewpoint that the prominence held by the nation of Brazil and more
precisely the wide Amazon basin lies in the fact that it helps in the absorption of a significant
amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other pollutants released by the different
industries, vehicles and others which otherwise could have greatly affected the climate of the
world. In addition to this, the rainforests of the nation are also the home to some of the rarest
9 Figueiredo, Fernando OG, et al. "Beyond climate control on species range: The importance of soil data to
predict distribution of Amazonian plant species." Journal of biogeography 45.1 (2018): 190-200.
10 Cerri, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino, et al. "Reducing Amazon deforestation through agricultural intensification
in the cerrado for advancing food security and mitigating climate change." Sustainability 10.4 (2018): 989.
11 Talukdar, S. "Jair Bolsonaro could be a disaster for the environment, scientific research | Brasil de Fato.".
In Brasil de Fato, , 2019, <https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/10/27/jair-bolsonaro-could-be-a-disaster-for-
the-environment-scientific-research/> [accessed 10 March 2019].
12 Shrivastava, Manish, et al. "Urban pollution greatly enhances formation of natural aerosols over the Amazon
rainforest." Nature Communications 10.1 (2019): 1046.

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
animals as well as planets of the world which can thrive only under the congenial natural
conditions of these rainforests. More importantly, in the recent times attempts have been
made by the environmentalists as well as the scientists to harvest as well as grow these
planets under artificial conditions taking the help of the greenhouse concept yet they have
failed to yield any significant result13. Thus, it can be said that in this regard the nation of
Brazil and more precisely its rainforest like the Amazon basin are especially important from
the perspective of the survival of the planet as well.
In an interview, conducted on the day when he took this oath as the 38th President of
Brazil, he said that his sole purpose is to make “make Brazil great” and for this purpose he
was willing to take the help of any means possible14. More importantly, justifying his
intention to use the land covered by the Amazon basin for commercial as well as industrial
purposes he stated that “Where there is indigenous land, there is a wealth beneath it” and this
is precisely the wealth that he intends to exploit15. It is true that the use of the land related to
the Amazon basin for commercial is likely to offer a significant amount of economic boon for
the nation of Brazil however it at the same time it needs to be said that the negative effective
that it is likely to pose to the planet as well as the climate of the world are huge. This is
perhaps one of the major reasons why this decision of Bolsonaro had received severe
criticism from all over the world. In this regard, the comment of the environmental minister,
Edson Duarte, “The new ministry that would emerge from the fusion … would have
difficulties operating that could result in damages to both agendas” is important to note16.
13 Figueiredo, Fernando OG, et al. "Beyond climate control on species range: The importance of soil data to
predict distribution of Amazonian plant species." Journal of biogeography 45.1 (2018): 190-200.
14 Watts, J. "Fears for Amazon as Bolsonaro plans to merge environment and agriculture ministries." In The
Guardian, 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-environment-agriculture-
ministries-amazon> [accessed 10 March 2019].
15 As-coa.org. "Explainer: Bolsonaro, Brazil, and the Environment | AS/COA". 2019,
<https://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-bolsonaro-brazil-and-environment> [accessed 10 March 2019].
16 Watts, J. "Fears for Amazon as Bolsonaro plans to merge environment and agriculture ministries." In The
Guardian, 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-environment-agriculture-
ministries-amazon> [accessed 10 March 2019].

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
More importantly, people have also raised concerns regarding the manner in which the
agricultural department of the nation would handle the affairs of the natural rainforests of the
nation and also the likely impact that process of commercialisation is going to have on the
rainforests which had formed the pride of the nation for centuries.
The decision of Bolsonaro to merge the two departments of his government clearly
points towards the decision of the government of Brazil to accelerate the pace of
deforestation which in turn is likely to affect the stability as well as the status quo of the
world in a significant manner17. In this regard, it needs to be said that the current rate of
deforestation in the Amazon basin is “52,000 square kilometres per year” which already is
taking a toll on the planet and if the rate is increased even in a slight manner then this can
have catastrophic results for the entire world itself18. More importantly, environments all over
the world fear that this is likely to start a sort of gold rush which in turn would not only place
the animals as well as the planets which form a part of the rainforest under discussion at a
great disadvantage but at the same time the different indigenous communities which have
been safeguarding it over the centuries. In this context, Edson Duarte had said that “I am
afraid of a gold rush to see who arrives first….the authorities will be complacent and will
grant concordance. They will be certain that nobody will bother them”19. This in turn no
doubt is likely to offer various short-term benefits for the national government of Bolsonaro
17 Cbc.ca. "The 'Trump of the Tropics' is now in charge of the lungs of the planet. Here's why that's scary | CBC
Radio". 2019, <https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/nov-3-2018-politics-puts-the-amazon-at-risk-the-problem-with-
probiotics-biggest-bird-was-blind-and-more-1.4887843/the-trump-of-the-tropics-is-now-in-charge-of-the-lungs-
of-the-planet-here-s-why-that-s-scary-1.4887845> [accessed 10 March 2019].
18 Npr.org. "Environmental Policies Of Brazil's New President Jair Bolsonaro Alarming Scientists ". 2019,
<https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/663123035/environmental-policies-of-brazils-new-president-jair-bolsonaro-
alarming-scientists> [accessed 10 March 2019].
19 Watts, J. "Fears for Amazon as Bolsonaro plans to merge environment and agriculture ministries." in The
Guardian, 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/01/bolsonaro-environment-agriculture-
ministries-amazon> [accessed 10 March 2019].

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
but in the longer run would prove to be disastrous both for the nation of Brazil and also for
the planet itself.
Freitas et al.20 have articulated the viewpoint that the deforestation of the rainforests
of Brazil are likely to affect the planet as well as the nation of Brazil in various ways. One of
the most important contributions of the Amazon rainforest is the fact that it helps to maintain
the carbon balance of the world in an effective manner and as a matter of fact it holds more
than one-sixth of the carbon of the world21. This can be attributed to the fact that the different
forms of carbon released into the environment are being absorbed by the tress and because of
the large volumes of carbon which is being absorbed by the Amazon rainforests it is often
called the “Lungs of the planet”22. However, Doug Boucher of the Union of Concerned
Scientists in this regard says “We have to take carbon dioxide basically out of the atmosphere
in order to prevent a very dangerous increase in temperature, and major increases in floods,
severe storms, and heat waves…….The best way we know to take carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere is to preserve and rebuild forests”23. This is perhaps one of the major reasons why
the decision of the President of Brazil to merge the two departments of the national
government and use the Amazon rainforest for commercial purposes is referred to as the
“planetary suicide”24.
20 Freitas, Flavio LM, et al. "Potential increase of legal deforestation in Brazilian Amazon after Forest Act
revision." Nature Sustainability 1.11 (2018): 665.
21 Shrivastava, Manish, et al. "Urban pollution greatly enhances formation of natural aerosols over the Amazon
rainforest." Nature Communications 10.1 (2019): 1046.
22 Brugger, Sandra O., et al. "Long-term man–environment interactions in the Bolivian Amazon: 8000 years of
vegetation dynamics." Quaternary Science Reviews 132 (2016): 114-128.
23 Npr.org. "Environmental Policies Of Brazil's New President Jair Bolsonaro Alarming Scientists ". 2019,
<https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/663123035/environmental-policies-of-brazils-new-president-jair-bolsonaro-
alarming-scientists> [accessed 10 March 2019].
24 Talukdar, S. "Jair Bolsonaro could be a disaster for the environment, scientific research | Brasil de Fato.".
In Brasil de Fato, 2019, <https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/10/27/jair-bolsonaro-could-be-a-disaster-for-
the-environment-scientific-research/> [accessed 10 March 2019].

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
The increasing number of natural disasters that the world had faced in the last decades
and also the erratic changes in the temperature as well as climate can be seen as the net result
of the evil brought on by the process of climate change25. More importantly, it is seen that the
icebergs at the Polar Regions are melting at an alarmingly faster rate and this in turn is likely
to drown a significant proportion of the planet’s land26. Cerri et al.27 are the viewpoint that
one of the major reasons for the drastic change in the climate that the world had witnessed in
the last decade can be attributed to the significant increase in the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere which in turn had precipitated all these changes. It is precisely here that the
prominence of the Amazon rainforest lies since the forest traps more than one-sixth of the
carbon which is being released into the atmosphere and thus over the years had been able to
reduce the rate of climate because of this action28. In addition to these, it is seen that the
Amazon rainforests produces more than 20% of the natural oxygen of the world which when
analysed in terms of money would account to trillions of dollars on yearly basis29. However,
if the rainforest is being used for commercial purposes then it would not be able to serve this
objective and this will in turn accelerate the rate of climate change which in turn endanger the
lives of all living beings on the planet. In addition to these, it would also mean the loss of the
lives of valuable plants, animals, insects and others who form an integral part of the rainforest
and also the indigenous people who had been guarding the rainforests for centuries30. Thus, it
25 Asner, Gregory P., et al. "Large-scale climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf economics
spectrum." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113.28 (2016): E4043-E4051.
26 Moros, Lina, María Alejandra Vélez, and Esteve Corbera. "Payments for ecosystem services and motivational
crowding in Colombia's Amazon Piedmont." Ecological economics 156 (2019): 468-488.
27 Cerri, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino, et al. "Reducing Amazon deforestation through agricultural intensification
in the cerrado for advancing food security and mitigating climate change." Sustainability 10.4 (2018): 989.
28 Freitas, Flavio LM, et al. "Potential increase of legal deforestation in Brazilian Amazon after Forest Act
revision." Nature Sustainability 1.11 (2018): 665.
29 Moros, Lina, María Alejandra Vélez, and Esteve Corbera. "Payments for ecosystem services and motivational
crowding in Colombia's Amazon Piedmont." Ecological economics 156 (2019): 468-488.
30 Brugger, Sandra O., et al. "Long-term man–environment interactions in the Bolivian Amazon: 8000 years of
vegetation dynamics." Quaternary Science Reviews 132 (2016): 114-128.

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
can be said that the anti-environmental policy is likely to offer short-term economic benefits
to the nation of Brazil yet in the longer run this is likely to destroy all forms of life on the
planet.
To conclude, climate change is perhaps one of the most important problems that the
world is presently facing and the existence of the human being or for that matter all forms of
life on the planet depends on the effectiveness with which it is being resolved. More
importantly, over the years it had been seen that the Amazon rainforest and other forests off
the world had helped to keep the problem of climate change in check because of the large
amount of carbon that the tree and the planets of these forest absorb. However, the recent
decision of the Brazilian President Bolsonaro to merge the forest and the agriculture
departments of the government and use the Amazon rainforest for commercial forests is
likely to take a heavy toll on the planet and had been called “planetary suicide”. As a matter
of fact, this anti-environmental decision of Bolsonaro is likely to threaten the entire existence
of living beings on the planet because of the prominence that the Amazon rainforests holds
within the ecosystem of the world.

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JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
References
As-coa.org. "Explainer: Bolsonaro, Brazil, and the Environment | AS/COA". 2019,
<https://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-bolsonaro-brazil-and-environment> [accessed 10
March 2019].
Asner, Gregory P., et al. "Large-scale climatic and geophysical controls on the leaf
economics spectrum." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113.28 (2016):
E4043-E4051.
Brueck, H. "Scientists are terrified that Brazil's new president will destroy the 'lungs of the
planet'.". In Business Insider Australia, 2019, <https://www.businessinsider.com.au/brazil-
president-bolsonaro-destroy-the-amazon-2018-10?r=US&IR=T> [accessed 10 March 2019].
Brugger, Sandra O., et al. "Long-term man–environment interactions in the Bolivian
Amazon: 8000 years of vegetation dynamics." Quaternary Science Reviews 132 (2016): 114-
128.
Cbc.ca. "The 'Trump of the Tropics' is now in charge of the lungs of the planet. Here's why
that's scary | CBC Radio". 2019, <https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/nov-3-2018-politics-puts-
the-amazon-at-risk-the-problem-with-probiotics-biggest-bird-was-blind-and-more-
1.4887843/the-trump-of-the-tropics-is-now-in-charge-of-the-lungs-of-the-planet-here-s-why-
that-s-scary-1.4887845> [accessed 10 March 2019].
Cerri, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino, et al. "Reducing Amazon deforestation through agricultural
intensification in the cerrado for advancing food security and mitigating climate
change." Sustainability 10.4 (2018): 989.

11
JAIR BOLSONARO AND HIS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Codato, Daniele, et al. "Oil production, biodiversity conservation and indigenous territories:
Towards geographical criteria for unburnable carbon areas in the Amazon
rainforest." Applied Geography 102 (2019): 28-38.
Figueiredo, Fernando OG, et al. "Beyond climate control on species range: The importance of
soil data to predict distribution of Amazonian plant species." Journal of biogeography 45.1
(2018): 190-200.
Freitas, Flavio LM, et al. "Potential increase of legal deforestation in Brazilian Amazon after
Forest Act revision." Nature Sustainability 1.11 (2018): 665.
Moros, Lina, María Alejandra Vélez, and Esteve Corbera. "Payments for ecosystem services
and motivational crowding in Colombia's Amazon Piedmont." Ecological economics 156
(2019): 468-488.
Npr.org. "Environmental Policies Of Brazil's New President Jair Bolsonaro Alarming
Scientists ". 2019, <https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/663123035/environmental-policies-of-
brazils-new-president-jair-bolsonaro-alarming-scientists> [accessed 10 March 2019].
Shakow, David. Climate Change and Environmental Ethics. Routledge, 2017.
Shrivastava, Manish, et al. "Urban pollution greatly enhances formation of natural aerosols
over the Amazon rainforest." Nature Communications 10.1 (2019): 1046.
Talukdar, S. "Jair Bolsonaro could be a disaster for the environment, scientific research |
Brasil de Fato.". In Brasil de Fato, , 2019, <https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/10/27/jair-
bolsonaro-could-be-a-disaster-for-the-environment-scientific-research/> [accessed 10 March
2019].
Watts, J. "Fears for Amazon as Bolsonaro plans to merge environment and agriculture
ministries." in The Guardian, 2019,