World on fire

World on fire

Burning Amazon shows how nationalist populism is endangering global commons.

Alarming fires in the Amazon rainforest in South America have brought global actors to an important pass. The fires in the Amazon this year have been particularly intense and are at least 35% higher in number than the average for the same period over the last eight years. This finally prompted the G7 countries to pledge $20 million to help fight the flames. However Brazil, which is home to about 60% of the Amazon and has been the focus of the crisis, has made this a prestige issue. Its far-right leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, initially rejected the G7 aid offer – which in any case is paltry – and is now conditioning its acceptance on French President Emmanuel Macron withdrawing supposed insults to him.

Since coming to power, Bolsonaro has defunded and sidelined government oversight of the environment. Illegal loggers in the Amazon have received a huge fillip from his moves. But Bolsonaro isn’t the only world leader today sceptical of the need to protect the environment. As the world witnesses the rise of nationalist governments that share a disdain for international institutions, the environment is becoming a big casualty.

With trust becoming an increasingly rare commodity in this nationalist era, the global commons is undermined. US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Paris Climate Accord. China insists its climate responsibilities should not be on a par with developed nations. Bolsonaro hints foreign countries are conspiring against Brazil over the Amazon fires. International cooperation is becoming synonymous with interference. But as the Amazon shows, eschewing globalisation and international collaboration has heavy costs. On the bright side, perhaps it is precisely those cataclysmic “world on fire” images coming out of the Amazon that will galvanise a counter-mobilisation to the nationalist populism that threatens the world today.