'Who pays?' asks Brazil Greenpeace protest on climate impact in the Amazon
MANACAPURU, Brazil, Sept 20 (Reuters) -A team of Brazilian Greenpeace environmental activists on Friday placed a protect banner on a sandbank that has emerged in the middle of one of the major rivers of the Amazon basin that is suffering from the worst draught on record.
"Who Pays?" it said of the environmental damage brought to the Amazon by climate change and global warming that Greenpeace blames on the continued use of fossil fuels.
The drought has lowered the water level of the Solimoes River to unprecedented lows, exposing the riverbed opposite the town of Manacapuru just upriver from the city of Manaus where it joins the Rio Negro to form the mighty Amazon.
It is the second year in a row of critical drought that has parched the tropical forest fueling extensive wildfires and stranding riverine communities for lack of transport as rivers become too shallow for boats to pass.
"We want to send a message that climate change is already affecting even the world's largest rainforest and drying up its rivers,” said Greenpeace Brazil spokesperson Romulo Batista.
He added vulnerable communities are paying for the consequences of climate change in the Amazon, such as Indigenous people, the fishermen and other residents whose floating houses no longer float on rivers that are drying up.
"It is the people who live outside the cities of the Amazon that are the ones paying the biggest price for this extreme climate event caused by the oil and gas industries around the world," Batista said.
The drought has heated up water temperatures on the rivers and lakes, killing fish and endangered freshwater dolphins.
On Wednesday, by the sandbank in the Solimoes river, the water was measured at 40 degrees Celsius, an unbearable temperature for the fish and the dolphins. Dying fish or skeletons of fish were found on the sandbank.
Severe drought devastates Amazon, rare dolphins die as water temperatures soar https://www.reuters.com/pictures/brazils-amazon-drought-affects-locals-access-food-water-2023-10-03/XWAWSON43NMV5DNBSZXBVMIOI4/
Reporting by Leonardo Benassatto and Jorge Silva in the Amazon; Writing by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia; Editing by Aurora Ellis
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
