Leaders agree on Amazon aid package at G7 Summit

Macron and President Sebastián Piñera of Chile said they also had reached an agreement in concept with the countries of the Amazon basin for a long-term program of forest protection and reforestation of cleared lands. They said more details might be presented next month at the UN General Assembly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7MXR8Obl-Q

The announcements followed a session on climate, the oceans and biodiversity that included representatives of several countries that are not members of the Group of 7.

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera attend a joint press conference that focused on climate during the G7 summit Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 in Biarritz. (AP)

President Donald Trump, who was holding meetings with other leaders, did not attend that session, according to Macron. The White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, said a senior member of the administration took part in his place.

Read | Telling numbers: Counting Amazon fires, assessing forest lost

Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called the Amazon fires a global crisis and a significant contributor to climate change, and insisted that the Group of 7 address it.

Fire consumes a field along the BR 070 highway near Cuiaba, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP)

The fires accelerate depletion of one of the world’s largest forests, a crucial sink for the atmospheric carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming. They also threaten indigenous peoples and shrinking wildlife habitat.

Even before the recent fires, deforestation had accelerated since Jair Bolsonaro became president of Brazil, and environmental groups have accused him of encouraging it. Fires in the Amazon are often set intentionally — and illegally — to clear forests for farming or ranching.