{"id":535459,"date":"2026-07-10T23:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535459\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T23:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:33:10","slug":"under-lula-amazon-deforestation-falls-to-lowest-level-in-a-decade-climate-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535459\/","title":{"rendered":"Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade | Climate News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The figures come months before Brazil\u2019s presidential election, with Lula promising to end illegal deforestation by 2030.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Published On 10 Jul 202610 Jul 2026<\/p>\n

Deforestation in Brazil\u2019s Amazon rainforest has fallen to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2026, according to official government figures.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s statistics mark a milestone in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva\u2019s efforts to curb the destruction of the world\u2019s largest rainforest.<\/p>\n

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From January to June, an estimated 1,295 square kilometres (500 square miles) of forest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon, a 38 percent drop compared with the same period last year, according to Brazil\u2019s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). It was also the lowest overall decrease since 2016.<\/p>\n

In recent years, deforestation in Brazil reached a peak around 2022, under Lula\u2019s far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. That year saw the clearing of an area 13 times the size of New York City.<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro had advocated for \u201csustainable development\u201d and mining in the Amazon, though critics say he allowed for greater environmental destruction, as well as the erosion of Indigenous rights in the region.<\/p>\n

In the 2022 presidential race, Lula defeated Bolsonaro in part by pledging to protect Brazil\u2019s environmental resources. He also reaffirmed Brazil\u2019s commitment to end illegal deforestation by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During Lula\u2019s first year back in office, Brazil\u2019s deforestation rate dropped by half and has continued to go down.<\/p>\n

But Lula has faced scrutiny for his environmental record overall, with critics blasting his government for authorising expanded oil exploration near the mouth of the Amazon River.<\/p>\n

The left-wing Lula has also navigated tensions with the right-wing government of United States President Donald Trump, a supporter of Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n

Trump vocally opposed the prosecution of Bolsonaro last year on charges of seeking to overturn Brazil\u2019s 2022 election results. Bolsonaro has since been sentenced to 27 years in prison.<\/p>\n

In June, Trump officials proposed a new round of tariffs on Brazil, citing unfair trading practices and illegal deforestation among its reasons.<\/p>\n

But Lula\u2019s government has pointed to the latest deforestation data as undermining the Trump administration\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t understand the work we are doing to bring deforestation down to zero by 2030. This is not a decision by any COP or by the United Nations,\u201d Lula said, using the acronym for the Conference of Parties, involved in the UN\u2019s climate change initiative. \u201cIt is a decision of our government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers have credited Brazil<\/a> with playing a major role in last year\u2019s overall drop in global rainforest loss. Brazil\u2019s declines came as Lula relaunched an anti-deforestation action plan and increased penalties for environmental crimes.<\/p>\n

As the world\u2019s largest rainforest, the Amazon absorbs enormous amounts of carbon and helps regulate the global climate, with scientists and environmental groups closely monitoring deforestation, which is also the leading driver of Brazil\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

Lula is currently campaigning for his fourth non-consecutive term as president; previously, he served two terms from 2003 to 2011.<\/p>\n

In October\u2019s presidential race, the 80-year-old is likely to face Bolsonaro\u2019s eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who has emerged as the main challenger on the right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The figures come months before Brazil\u2019s presidential election, with Lula promising to end illegal deforestation by 2030. Published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1083,114,2084,45607,242,85,46,16632,43,238,3594],"class_list":["post-535459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-brazil","tag-business","tag-climate","tag-climate-crisis","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-latin-america","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-sustainability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}