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Brazil Fines Meatpacking Companies, Including Giant JBS, for Buying Illegally Raised Cattle

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Monday, October 28, 2024

Brasilia, BRAZIL (AP) — Brazil's environmental agency has levied $64 million in fines against 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers for buying and selling cattle raised illegally on deforested land in the Amazon.The operation, dubbed Cold Meat 2, launched last week. It tracked 18,000 head of cattle raised in 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) of pasture that has been banned for commercial use due to illegal deforestation. The agents also apprehended 8,854 head of cattle found inside the restricted areas. News of the fines began emerging over the weekend.Cattle raising is the main driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 90% of the total area cleared between 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. That represents a total of 227,800 square miles (590,000 square kilometers), slightly larger than France. As a result, 14% of the Amazon is covered by grazing land, according to MapBiomas, a network of nongovernmental organizations that monitors land use. “We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, known as Ibama, told The Associated Press.Among those fined was JBS, the world's largest meat-packing company. JBS has applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that has faced opposition from some U.S. lawmakers and environmental nonprofits. It's not clear when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may make a decision on JBS' bid.The JBS fine was $108,000 for purchasing 1,231 head of cattle, the fifth largest penalty among the fined companies.The operation followed three months of investigation by Ibama's intelligence unit and is the latest episode linking JBS to illegal deforestation. In December, AP revealed that it is facing lawsuits for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in Jaci-Parana, a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon. In a statement, JBS denied buying cattle from embargoed areas and said it had already submitted documents to Ibama demonstrating their legal origin. However, the company declined to comment on the Jaci-Parana’s case despite repeated requests for clarification from AP since it published the story.“JBS has maintained its Responsible Procurement Policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring system in place to ensure that the company does not purchase animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, encroachment on Indigenous lands or conservation areas that are under embargo by Ibama,” read the statement. Agropam, a meatpacker in Boca do Acre city, received the largest fine, $493,000, for buying 5,624 head of cattle from illegal areas. The company, which operates under the name of Frizam, sells beef only for Brazil's internal market. A message requesting comment was not returned.The other top companies targeted were Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef. Mafrico and Frigo did not respond to requests for comment left by phone and on their websites. Contact information for 163 Beef was not immediately available, as numbers on its Facebook page were disconnected.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Brazil's environmental agency levied $64 million in fines against 23 meatpacking and their suppliers companies for buying and selling cattle raised illegally on deforested land in the Amazon

Brasilia, BRAZIL (AP) — Brazil's environmental agency has levied $64 million in fines against 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers for buying and selling cattle raised illegally on deforested land in the Amazon.

The operation, dubbed Cold Meat 2, launched last week. It tracked 18,000 head of cattle raised in 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) of pasture that has been banned for commercial use due to illegal deforestation. The agents also apprehended 8,854 head of cattle found inside the restricted areas. News of the fines began emerging over the weekend.

Cattle raising is the main driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 90% of the total area cleared between 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. That represents a total of 227,800 square miles (590,000 square kilometers), slightly larger than France. As a result, 14% of the Amazon is covered by grazing land, according to MapBiomas, a network of nongovernmental organizations that monitors land use.

“We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, known as Ibama, told The Associated Press.

Among those fined was JBS, the world's largest meat-packing company. JBS has applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that has faced opposition from some U.S. lawmakers and environmental nonprofits. It's not clear when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may make a decision on JBS' bid.

The JBS fine was $108,000 for purchasing 1,231 head of cattle, the fifth largest penalty among the fined companies.

The operation followed three months of investigation by Ibama's intelligence unit and is the latest episode linking JBS to illegal deforestation. In December, AP revealed that it is facing lawsuits for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in Jaci-Parana, a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon.

In a statement, JBS denied buying cattle from embargoed areas and said it had already submitted documents to Ibama demonstrating their legal origin. However, the company declined to comment on the Jaci-Parana’s case despite repeated requests for clarification from AP since it published the story.

“JBS has maintained its Responsible Procurement Policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring system in place to ensure that the company does not purchase animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, encroachment on Indigenous lands or conservation areas that are under embargo by Ibama,” read the statement.

Agropam, a meatpacker in Boca do Acre city, received the largest fine, $493,000, for buying 5,624 head of cattle from illegal areas. The company, which operates under the name of Frizam, sells beef only for Brazil's internal market. A message requesting comment was not returned.

The other top companies targeted were Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef. Mafrico and Frigo did not respond to requests for comment left by phone and on their websites. Contact information for 163 Beef was not immediately available, as numbers on its Facebook page were disconnected.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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William announces Earthshot Prize 2025 winners in Rio

Winners include a project for making the Atlantic Forest financially viable and a global ocean treaty initiative

William announces Earthshot Prize 2025 winners in RioAFP via Getty ImagesPrince William with Kylie Minogue at the awards ceremony The Prince of Wales has revealed the five winners of this year's environmental Earthshot Prize, calling them an "inspiration that gives us courage".Prince William said their work was "proof that progress is possible" during Wednesday evening's awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro's Museum of Tomorrow.Winners include a project for making South America's Atlantic Forest financially viable and a global ocean treaty initiative aimed at conserving marine life. Brazilian football legend Cafu, Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade and former Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel were among the award presenters.A performance by Kylie Minogue featured a medley of hits - including Padam, Padam and Can't Get You Out of My Head. Singer Shawn Mendes and Brazilian queen of pop Anitta also got the jubilant mood swinging. Earthshot Prize supports eco-friendly projects from around the world, and annually awards each of the five winners with a £1m grant to scale up their ideas aimed at repairing the world's climate.Organisers of the initiative were inspired by former US President John F Kennedy's Moonshot project, which challenged scientists to get astronauts to the Moon and back safely.Hosted by award-winning Brazilian broadcaster Luciano Huck, the awards ceremony was addressed by Prince William, the Earthshot Prize's president.Political guests at the ceremony included Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.ReutersThe Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer"When I founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, we had a 10-year goal: to make this the decade in which we transformed our world for the better," he told attendees."We set out to tackle environmental issues head on and make real, lasting changes that would protect life on Earth."There are five Earthshots or goals: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix Our Climate.The future king has committed himself to it for 10 years, with Rio marking a halfway point for the venture.This year saw nearly 2,500 nominees submitted from 72 countries. Out of them, 15 finalists were selected, from which the five winners were chosen.Earthshot Prize 2025 - Full list of winnersProtect and Restore Nature: re.green, in Brazil, is making protecting one of the world's most important ecosystems, the Atlantic Forest, financially viableClean Our Air: The city of Bogotá, has shown how public policy can bring lasting change, through means such as clean air zones and re-greening degraded areas in the Colombian capitalRevive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty is a global ocean initiative that will set out clear measures to conserve marine life, among other things, and will go into effect from January 2026Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week, in Nigeria, is redefining the industry, with each designer wishing to showcase required to show their commitment to sustainable practice Fix Our Climate: Friendship is dedicated to helping vulnerable communities across Bangladesh for a multiude of things from access to public services, health, education and preparing for natural disastersPA MediaThe Prince of Wales was joined by artists Seu Gorge, Anitta, Kylie Minogue and Shawn MendesCEO of re.green, Thiago Picolo, said that winning the Protect & Restore Nature prize puts the organisation "on the right path"."Winning a prize likes this is validation for us, helps us know we're going in the right direction, facilitates conversations we need to have with banks, capital providers, corporates," he said.Referring to the winners as "innovators", Prince William called the Earthshot Prize a "mission driven by the kind of extraordinary optimism we have felt here tonight"."There's a great deal we can learn from their determination, their vision for scale, and their unyielding belief that we can create a better world."The chair of the board of trustees, Christiana Figueres, said they were building a "global legacy"."These winners are proof that the spirit of collective action born here in Rio continues to grow stronger, more determined, and more urgent than ever. "Their 2030 aims are deeply ambitious - but their impact to date, their plans in place and their tenacity fuels my optimism."Daily Mirror/PALondon Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan also attended the ceremony in Rio de JaneiroEarlier in the day, Prince William met the 15 finalists during a visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue, where he posed for a photograph on the same spot his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, did 34 years ago.But much of the prince's five-day visit to Brazil has been focused on climate and the environment.On Tuesday, he criticised criminals for their involvment in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest during a speech at the United for Wildlife conference.He also travelled to the small island of Paqueta, where he met locals, learnt about mangrove conservation and planted tree saplings.On Thursday, he will be travelling to Belem in the Amazon rainforest, where he is scheduled to give a speech at COP30, the UN's annual climate change meeting.

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‘Green desert’: the farmers winning a battle with Brazil’s wood-pulp giant

Eucalyptus production is dominated by large multinationals that convert farmland and forest into monoculture plantationsRazor-straight rows of eucalyptus clones flank the Baixa Verde settlement in north-eastern Brazil. The genetically identical trees are in marked contrast to the patches of wild Atlantic forest – one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth – that remain scattered across the region.Surrounded by nearly 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of eucalyptus plantations, Baixa Verde is a rare example of a local victory over a multinational in Brazil. The rural settlement owes its existence to nearly two decades of legal battles over land rights – but the fight is not over yet. Continue reading...

Razor-straight rows of eucalyptus clones flank the Baixa Verde settlement in north-eastern Brazil. The genetically identical trees are in marked contrast to the patches of wild Atlantic forest – one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth – that remain scattered across the region.Surrounded by nearly 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of eucalyptus plantations, Baixa Verde is a rare example of a local victory over a multinational in Brazil. The rural settlement owes its existence to nearly two decades of legal battles over land rights – but the fight is not over yet.After fighting to retain their land, the families now face an unprecedented security crisis marked by armed clashes, arson and death threats, part of a wave of violence driven by a land dispute that has escalated since 2024.A eucalyptus plot owned by Veracel Celulose. Production typically involves converting farmland and forest into monoculture plantations. Photograph: Jhedys KannConflicts over land rights have long been an issue in the region. Obtaining property titles is commonly deemed to legitimise land grabs from traditional communities, and local people had suspected that Veracel Celulose – a pulp-production company jointly owned by the Swedish-Finnish company Stora Enso and the giant Brazilian pulp manufacturer Suzano – was planting eucalyptus trees on public land.In 2008, Ercilio Souza, one of the founders of the Baixa Verde settlement, and Juenildo Oliveira Farias visited government archives to review public documents. They found the page that proved the 1,300 hectares in dispute were owned by the government. “We always knew that it was public land,” says Souza.With the document in hand, they assembled 91 local families and joined the Landless Workers Movement (MST), a ​​political and social organisation fighting for agrarian reform. Its first action was to occupy an area of a eucalyptus plantation used by Veracel, accusing the company of using public land.Two years after the original occupation, the MST won state recognition that the company did not legally own the parcel of land planted by Veracel. “This document was a victory not just for the local land rights movement but for all the social movements of Brazil,” says Jhedys Lemos Farias, who grew up in the encampment and is now one of the leaders of the MST.Ercilio Souza on his new land, previously a eucalyptus plantation. Souza had always suspected this land to be publicly owned. Photograph: Jhedys KannAfter years of roadblocks and legal battles, the state of Bahia signed an agreement with Veracel and the MST in 2016, restoring 1,300 hectares of Veracel land to the government and giving each family a plot large enough to grow their own food. Of the 61 families remaining, 53 have moved into their new plots.“Winning a right to the land means that we now have a place to care for our youngest ones,” says Lemos Farias.Despite losing the land, a Veracel representative maintains that the company has always operated with “transparency, social and environmental responsibility” and respect for the local population. “The company has never been convicted of land grabbing and reaffirms that its production areas are legally regulated and operate with the required environmental permits.”Yet, in the years since the agreement, the families say they have experienced death threats, gunfire, burned homes, stolen produce and destroyed fields.Jhedys Lemos Farias next to a river near the Baixa Verde settlement. Local people say the river has dried up since eucalyptus production began. Photograph: Sara Van HornAccording to the MST, the conflict now centres on plots of land that remain occupied by farmers affiliated with the local union, the Federation of Rural Workers and Family Agriculture (Fetag). When it was about to lose possession of the contested land, Veracel donated 300 nearby hectares to the union – a donation confirmed by Fetag’s leadership, according to a recording of a public hearing held with Bahia’s National Agrarian Ombudsman’s Office.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Global DispatchGet a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development teamPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionThere is a lot of persecution happening around here. Our tents have been set on fire, as well as our sugarcane fieldsOver the past four years, six leaders of the MST have been placed under protective watch by Brazil’s protection programme for human rights defenders, communicators and environmentalists. The government has recommended that some of these leaders relocate, but out of loyalty to the movement and connection with their hard-won land, they have refused.Because of the death threats he has received, Souza says he has trouble sleeping at night. “I am really scared that something is going to happen to my family,” he says. “There is a lot of persecution happening around here. Our tents have been set on fire, as well as our sugarcane fields.”Marli dos Santos outside a temporary home while she waits for her lot to be vacated. She found bullet casings in the grass a few feet away. Photograph: Sara Van HornThe MST claims that eight families do not feel safe enough to cultivate their plots, which remain occupied by farmers allegedly associated with Veracel.Veracel says that over the past 15 years, it has allocated “more than 20,000 hectares to agrarian reform initiatives, whether through judicial agreements, donations to the National Institute for Colonisation and Agrarian Reform (Incra), donations, or direct sales, to resolve ongoing conflicts in the territory.”The company also says “the creation of the settlements – from design to subdivision and lot definition – was conducted entirely by the state government, without interference from the company”, and “does not comment on conflicts between social movements”.Marli dos Santos is one of the two people who still live in the old encampment. She says she has been harassed by armed men who surrounded her house and shot at the ground in front of her home. Because no one lives nearby, Santos – who lives alone – believes the gunshots were meant to intimidate her out of reclaiming her assigned plot.In August, the state of Bahia authorised the removal of Fetag farmers who remain on Baixa Verde lots – but the ruling has yet to be enforced.Fetag did not respond to a request for comment.Besides defending against threats and violence, converting lands once used for eucalyptus monoculture into food production is now the main challenge for the Baixa Verde communities. Eucalyptus production is dominated by large multinationals that, since the 1960s, have been converting farmland and forest into monoculture plantations, driven by global demand.Brazil is the world’s largest producer of eucalyptus, a fast-growing, water-intensive plant, whose pulp is exported to make cardboard and paper products. Most of the country’s eucalyptus pulp is exported to Europe, where it is used to make paper products often marketed as a renewable alternative to plastics – despite the environmental damage caused by monoculture.In Bahia, the proliferation of these farms has earned the local moniker “green desert”, due to the loss of wildlife and the severe shortage of water and land experienced by families living near eucalyptus plantations.The farm plots of the Baixa Verde settlement next to Veracel. Photograph: Jhedys KannSouza grew up in the region and remembers the river before the area was transformed by eucalyptus monoculture, promoted by Veracel. “We used to cross it in a canoe. It was full,” he says. “After Veracel arrived, it dried up.” He attributes the water scarcity to the company’s arrival in 1991.Veracel says it “adopts a mosaic management system, in which eucalyptus is cultivated in plateau areas, while valleys, springs and native vegetation are preserved. This model ensures soil protection, wildlife conservation and the maintenance of water resources.” The company also says it “conducts continuous monitoring of micro-basins in its area of operation” and “develops reforestation and forest restoration projects in areas near communities”.In the neighbouring state of Minas Gerais, the eucalyptus region of Turmalina has seen its groundwater level drop by 4.5 metres over the past 45 years, according to researchers at Minas Gerais Federal University.Vegetation under eucalyptus monoculture absorbs 26% of rainfall to restore groundwater levels – compared with a 50% level of absorption associated with native forest. Three-quarters of farming families surveyed in Minas Gerais reported their crops being affected by the scarcity.The cultivation of eucalyptus also poses an increased risk of wildfire. Plantations are so flammable that Chile ruled out eucalyptus as a viable climate solution after a series of large wildfires in its domestic plantations.Despite the environmental risks, eucalyptus plantations continue to play a significant role in the carbon market, with trees being sold as carbon credits to fossil fuel polluters to offset their emissions. Despite opposition from campaigners, in May last year, the Brazilian government passed a law excluding eucalyptus from a list of industries needing an environmental licence.

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Ancient DNA may rewrite the story of Iceland's earliest settlers

Biochemical evidence suggests Norse people settled in Iceland almost 70 years before the accepted arrival date of the 870s, and didn't chop down the island's forests

Historical accounts say Ingólfr Arnarson was the first Norse settler of Iceland, arriving in the 870s, but this may not be truePublic domain Norse people may have lived in Iceland almost 70 years earlier than historians thought, and their arrival might not have been the environmental disaster it is often portrayed as. Historical accounts suggest that people first settled in Iceland in the 870s. This early migration is often depicted as an ecological disaster driven by Viking raiders or Norse settlers as they cleared the island’s forests for fuel, building material and fields. Forests now cover just 2 per cent of the country. Firm evidence for when the first settlers arrived has been hard to come by. Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient wooden longhouse near the fjord of Stöðvarfjörður in the east of Iceland dating to around AD 874, underneath which is an older longhouse thought to be a summer settlement built in the 800s rather than a permanent home, but this finding hasn’t yet been reported in a scientific paper. Now, Eske Willerslev at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and his colleagues have examined environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from two sediment cores drilled at Lake Tjörnin in central Reykjavík, one of Iceland’s earliest and longest-occupied settlements, to see which species were present when. By examining layers of volcanic ash and using radiocarbon dating and plutonium isotope analysis, the researchers put together a timeline spanning from about AD 200 to the modern day, aligned with known historical events. One key marker they used is known as the Landnám tephra layer, the ash and fragments left over from a volcanic eruption in about AD 877. Most evidence of human occupation in Iceland sits above this layer, so it was laid down after the eruption. “Signs below the tephra are like the smoking gun that there was earlier human activity,” says Chris Callow at the University of Birmingham, UK, who wasn’t involved in the study. Willerslev and his colleagues suggest people arrived almost 70 years before that mark: about AD 810. That is because at this point, they saw an increase in a compound known as levoglucosan, an indicator of biomass burning, as well as a rise in viruses associated with sewage. “If it had been 850, I wouldn’t have been so surprised, but 810 is early for Viking expansion in the North Atlantic,” says Callow. “Overall, this is a nice confirmation of what we might have suspected, but it’s still quite controversial to have a date as early as 810.” Putting together this comprehensive environmental history of the region is phenomenal, but the evidence for such an early date isn’t conclusive, says Kathryn Catlin at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. “When it comes to sewage biomarkers, there is a little bump around 800 and then nothing until 1900. Where are all the indicators of humans in sewage biomarkers and the intervening time period?” she says. And although biomass burning can indicate the presence of people, fires can also be caused by natural sources like lightning, she adds. Willerslev and his colleagues, who declined to speak to New Scientist, also found that the arrival of settlers coincided with an increase in local biodiversity. The DNA record suggests they brought grazing livestock with them, grew hay meadows and practised small-scale barley cultivation for brewing beer. Contrary to the conventional view of rapid deforestation, eDNA from pollen revealed that birch and willow trees expanded during the settlement period. For example, birch pollen grains increased fivefold between AD 900 and 1200, which the researchers think could have been down to deliberate management, keeping livestock away from trees to ensure settlers continued to have easy access to wood for timber and fuel. “This is the nail in the coffin for that old just-so story of the Vikings getting to Iceland and then, suddenly, ‘oh no, the environment is destroyed’,” says Catlin. Noticeable numbers of sheep, cattle, pigs and horses don’t appear until several decades after the initial settlement, which Willerslev and his colleagues suggest is because it would have taken about 20 years to build big enough herds to be detectable in the eDNA record. Callow suggests an alternative reason: it could be that the first people didn’t bring many animals with them because they were coming just for the summer season in search of walrus ivory. “They could have been killing a few walruses and then going home again,” he says. The eDNA suggests that pronounced loss of biodiversity, including birch and willow trees, didn’t occur until after 1200. Willerslev and his colleagues suggest this was associated not with the presence of settlers, but with climate cooling related to the Little Ice Age – a period of colder conditions from about 1250 to 1860 – plus volcanic eruptions and storm surges.

Forests
Animals
Climate

New set of forest towns to be built between Oxford and Cambridge

Communities in the middle of new national forest to show how housebuilding can be delivered alongside natureA new set of forest towns will be built in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, nestled in the middle of a new national forest.After facing anger from nature groups over the deregulation in the upcoming planning bill, ministers are trying to demonstrate that mass housebuilding can be delivered in conjunction with new nature. The government has promised to plant millions of trees to boost England’s nature. Continue reading...

A new set of forest towns will be built in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, nestled in the middle of a new national forest.After facing anger from nature groups over the deregulation in the upcoming planning bill, ministers are trying to demonstrate that mass housebuilding can be delivered in conjunction with new nature. The government has promised to plant millions of trees to boost England’s nature.Nature minister Mary Creagh told the Guardian: “A previous Labour government had this great vision of garden cities post world war two and given our promises on tree planting, we thought, how can we create these forest cities which basically bring nature closer to people, green jobs closer to these new communities and help us tackle climate change?”The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced investment into the “Ox-Cam corridor” and hopes to link the cities to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. The government sees it as essential for the UK’s economic growth, and says it could add up to £78bn to the economy by 2035. The government says it will build new towns and rail links between the two.At the same time, a new national forest will be built so those who live and work in the area have green spaces to enjoy, and to create high-quality nature to complement the urban areas.Creagh added that this announcement would be part of Keir Starmer’s Cop30 offering. She said: “The prime minister is attending the world leaders’ Cop meeting, this is a forest Cop in the Amazon and we are showing as a country we are stepping up.”She added that the model will show that the government and developers can “use trees to essentially build communities and provide beautiful housing and beautiful locations for people, where people want to live and builders want to build.”The homes in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor would be a 10-minute walk from the forest, she said: “It’s about creating places and spaces where generations of people are going to build a home, make their families, they’re lovely for people to live in and where nature can thrive.”Another national forest will be planted in the north of England, with a competition to decide the location to be launched early next year as part of a commitment to allocate more than £1bn this parliament to tree planting and support to the forestry sector. In March, the government announced the Western Forest, which was the first new national forest in three decades and is planned to stretch from the Cotswolds to the Mendips.All departments have been asked to link their policies to the chancellor’s “economic growth mission”, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said that planting trees creates growth because meeting tree planting targets across Britain could result in over 14,000 jobs being created and supported. Defra also said it will explore a woodland carbon purchase fund, offering upfront payments to landowners to plant carbon-rich woodlands.skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionThe environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said: “Our woodlands are vital for regulating our climate, supporting wildlife, and increasing access to nature for us all.“We are delivering on our manifesto commitment with three new national forests: planting is under way in the West Country, a second will be between Oxford and Cambridge and we will launch a competition for a third next year.”More details on the government’s biodiversity measures are expected in the rewritten environmental improvement plan, which is expected to be published soon. This will set out how ministers plan to meet the legally binding nature targets set out in the 2021 Environment Act.

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Brazil's Lula Puts Forward New Vision for Protecting the Amazon Rainforest

Brazil’s leader, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, says he wants the future of the Amazon rainforest to be built around a major fund that will pay countries to keep their forests standing

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday put forward his vision for how the Amazon rainforest should be protected, a future that didn't depend on donations from wealthy nations and large philanthropies but instead included a major fund that paid countries to keep forests standing. “I don't want to say the word donation any longer,” Lula told reporters ahead of the United Nations’ climate summit, known as COP30, which begins this week in Belem, a Brazilian city in the edge of the Amazon. “Someone gives us $50 million. It is nice, but that’s nothing," he said. "We need billions to deal with our problems, problems of people who are (living) there.”In Belem, Lula is expected to launch an initiative named Tropical Forests Forever Fund, aiming to support more than 70 developing countries that commit to preservation. So far, Colombia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Malaysia have joined. Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom are helping shape the mechanism and likely will be its first investors, which Lula hopes will help boost interest from the private sector. Brazil's president did not provide more details about how the plan would come to action.The official COP30 website describes the initiative as a “permanent trust fund” that would generate about $4 from the private sector for every $1 contributed. How that would happen wasn't immediately clear. However, forests can generate money in various ways beyond extracting resources, such as tourism and carbon offsets, which can involve companies paying to cancel out their pollution by planting trees and protecting forests. If the initiative works, resources will be sent to countries that keep their tropical forests.“Brazil has already invested $1 billion, and this will bring revenue to investors,” Lula added. “It is a win-win fund. We hope that when we finish the TFFF presentation many countries join.”Lula also defended his government's recent decision to approve exploratory drilling by state-run oil-giant Petrobras near the mouth of the Amazon River.The Equatorial Margin deposit off the coast of Brazil, which stretches from Brazil’s border with Suriname to a part of the country’s Northeast region, is believed to be rich in oil and gas.The exploratory drilling block lies 175 kilometers (108 miles) offshore the northern Brazilian state of Amapa, which borders Suriname. The biodiverse area is home to little-studied mangroves and a coral reef. Activists and experts have said the project risks leaks that could be carried widely by tides and imperil the sensitive environment. Petrobras has long argued it has never caused spills in its drillings.“If I was a fake and lying leader, I would wait for COP to be finished (to give approval)," Lula said. “But if I did that I would be a small man before the importance of this.” Lula, Brazil's president for two terms early in the 2000s before returning for a third term in 2023, has long cast himself as both a steward of the environment and pragmatic. Brazil is a major oil exporting country, and revenues brought in by Petrobras help fund any government's agenda. At the same time, Lula's administration has worked to curb deforestation and take a leading role in climate negotiations by hosting the summit. “I don't want to be an environmental leader. I never claimed to be,” Lula added. “I want to do the right things that specialists, my administration and my conscience say we have to do. It would be incoherent, an irresponsible action, if I said we will no longer use oil.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.orgCopyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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We Trees

Ever wonder what trees think of us now that we have created a climate disaster? This 2-minute film answers that question. As Bill McKibben recently tweeted about the film, “Who speaks for trees? In this short and elegant video, the trees themselves.” It has been screened at Green Fest (Serbia), The Colorado Environmental Film Festival, The Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and Winner of Merit at the Nature Without Borders Film Festival.

Forests
Chemicals
Climate

Where Do They All Go?

Join us on an quiet trip into the woods and see all the sites, big and small, that you may not have noticed before. There are critters, birds, deer, trees, and great bodies of water that will capture your eye for you to gaze upon. But be forewarned, some day these great sites may disappear in place for something more modern. So enjoy what time you have to gaze on such sites, it may be your last.

Land Use
Experimental
Forests

Talking Trees

Yes, trees can talk. They communicate through their roots. Please listen to what they have to say in this short film.

Forests
Extinction
Climate

The Day She Stole The Sun

In 2019, after years of severe drought, Australia endured an unprecedented bushfire crisis. The fires spanned almost the entire length of the country… and one small village on the New South Wales South Coast was hit by the full force of its destruction. The village became a national symbol for resilience and unbreakable Australian spirit. Told by the people who were there, this is not a story about tragedy, it’s a story about community. This is the story of Cobargo.

Forests
Climate
Crisis

Juskatla

Juskatla weaves together perspectives of the people who live on the islands of Haida Gwaii—an archipelago on Canada’s Northwest coast, and the ancestral territories of the Haida Nation. From industrial loggers who harvest trees from ancient forests, to Sphenia Jones, a Haida matriarch who bears an intimate knowledge of her People’s territories, Juskatla meditates on the divergent ways of being that shape the islands and its people.

Forests
Indigenous
Culture

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