Worldwide protests against Brazilian government inaction on Amazon wildfires
Protesters around the world have demonstrated outside Brazilian embassies today, following government complacency of the wildfires that are spreading across the Amazon.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in London, Dublin, Paris and Barcelona, calling for Brazilian president Jairo Bolsonaro to act.
In London, climate activists tweeted: "@XRebellionUK are at the Brazilian Embassy in London calling on President Jair Bolsonaro to #ActNow to protect the Amazon rainforest."
Some demonstrators held up placards reading: "Our house is on fire" and "Save our planet".
Protesters also rallied at the Dublin embassy, with one Twitter user stating: "#ActForAmazonia happening right now at the Brazilian Embassy #Dublin to protest the Brazilian government’s reckless environmental policies as the Amazon burns."
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In Paris, the protests were intensified, as the demonstrations were sparked by tensions between the two countries.
Hundreds of anti-Bolsonaro protestsers, gathered also carrying placards which read: "Pray for Amazonia".
One placard read: "The human species faces its guilt".
In Barcelona, one Twitter user posted images of children holding a sign stating "SOS Amazon", along with a tweet stating: "Children creatively supporting the Barcelona protests on Amazon’s fires and deforestation. one of the masks is crying.
"The Rainforest is burning, so are we.
"Please, stop this madness."
These protests come as France and Ireland have refused to ratify trade deals with south American trading bloc Mercosur if Brazil does not act on the Amazon wildfire crisis.
This brings over 20 years of negotiations with the EU to a halt.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the wildfires in the Amazon an international crisis and said the leaders of the G7 nations should hold urgent discussions about them at their summit in France this weekend.
On Thursday, he tweeted: "Our house burns. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet that produces 20% of our oxygen, is on fire. It's an international crisis. G7 members, see you in two days to talk about this emergency."
However, President Bolsonaro - a far-right climate skeptic - fired back with his own tweet, saying: "I regret that Macron seeks to make personal political gains in an internal matter for Brazil and other Amazonian countries.
"The sensationalist tone he used does nothing to solve the problem."
The Brazilian president has previously indicated he may pull Brazil out of the Paris Climate Agreement on climate change, and could open the Amazon rainforest to development and agribusiness.