Brazil: Amazon deforestation at 40-year low

It's home to 10% of the known species on our planet and absorbs a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit. The Amazon rainforest spans more than 5 million square kilometers in South America, a treasure eroded by human deforestation. But this year the Brazilian government has some good news to announce The Amazon has the lowest deforestation rate ever recorded since data collection began in 1988. We've never seen a level this low According to satellite data, there were 335,000 square kilometres of deforestation between August 2025 and July 2026. That's 42% less than in the previous 12 months The decline is credited to Lula. Since returning to power in 2023, the left-wing president has reinstated a policy of combating deforestation and arson. These efforts are particularly evident in the state of Amazonas, which is currently plagued by deliberately lit fires. The police and enforcement agencies are carrying out an integrated and coordinated effort to curb these criminal practices. We must punish those responsible so that we can truly bring the fires under control here in the Amazon. Lula is polishing his environmental record right in the middle of the presidential election's runoff period. His father, Jair Bolsonaro's presidential term from 2019 to 2022, presided over the highest levels of deforestation in the Amazon in 15 years.