Amazon rainforest fires: global leaders urged to divert Brazil from 'suicide' path

International pressure may be the only way to stop the Brazilian government from taking a “suicide” path in the Amazon, one of the country’s most respected scientists has said, as the world’s biggest rainforest continues to be ravaged by thousands of deliberate fires.

A raging fire in Tocantins state - it was Swedish
teenager, Greta Thunberg who said "Our house is
on fire" and no one believed her, maybe they will now.

The large number of conflagrations – set illegally to clear and prepare land for crops, cattle and property speculation – has prompted the state of Amazonas to declare an emergency, created giant smoke clouds that have drifted hundreds of miles, and sparked international concerns about the destruction of an essential carbon sink.

“Our house is burning,” tweeted the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who called for emergency talks on the subject at this week’s G7 summit. But the response to the crisis has been mixed: while Norway and Germany have halted donations to the Brazilian government’s Amazon fund, the EU has recently signed a trade deal with South America, and the UK spent this week focusing on post-Brexit business with Brazil.

Read the story from The Guardian by Jonathon Watts - “Amazon rainforest fires: global leaders urged to divert Brazil from 'suicide' path.”

International pressure on PM to save the CSIRO's climate change work

International pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister to intervene to prevent further damage to Australia's global reputation caused by the CSIRO's climate science cuts.

The call comes after another leaked letter from CSIRO obtained by Fairfax Media reveals a major international weather agency wrote to CSIRO more than a year ago to express its concern about a pending cut to Australia's efforts.

The director of research for the agency, European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), warned that its work relied heavily on high quality data, which was provided in part by CSIRO's Aerospan program.

CSIRO's contribution "has been incredibly important" and was "essential to ensure the continuation of high-quality services, particularly in remote regions of the Southern Hemisphere", the letter by Erland Kallen, dated April 16, 2015, said.

Read The Sydney Morning Herald story - “International pressure grows on Turnbull government over CSIRO cuts.”