This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
Published on August 23, 2019, European leaders have reacted with growing fear and anger to the devastating Amazon fires, calling it a worldwide crisis that is accelerating global warming.
President Emmanuel Macron of France accused President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil of lying about being committed to fighting climate change and protecting the Amazon forest, prompting him to try to kill a major trade deal between Europe and South America.
The French president and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany both said that the Amazon fires should be added to the agenda of the Group of 7 summit meeting being held in Biarritz, France, but Mr. Bolsonaro replied by telling them to keep their noses out of Brazil's business.
Environmentalists and celebrities have called for a boycott of Brazil and its far-right president, who has cut back on protection of wild lands and wants to open more rain forest to farming and ranching.
While many of the fires have been set by farmers on lands that were previously cleared, others were set by people clearing rain forest anew, for crops or pastures. The number of fires has increased sharply this year, and environmentalists say Mr. Bolsonaro's government has enabled and even encouraged the destruction, which it denies.
Mr. Bolsonaro claimed that nongovernmental organizations had set fires to make his administration look bad, but conceded that he had no evidence for the accusation.
On Thursday, Mr. Macron tweeted:
