Amazon on fire, Fridays for Future protests around the world
Environment — di Lorenzo Brenna
On 23 August, demonstrations are planned outside Brazilian consulates in cities around the world, in protest against the destruction of the rainforest.
Amazon on fire, Fridays for Future protests around the world
On 23 August, demonstrations are planned outside Brazilian consulates in cities around the world, in protest against the destruction of the rainforest.
In less than three weeks, millions of hectares of rainforest have burned in the Brazilian Amazon, due to the numerous fires that broke out in the states of Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará and Mato Grosso, worsening the global climate and environmental crisis. The fires represent a further severe blow to the world's largest tropical forest, already brought to its knees by rampant deforestation. To protest against Brazil's reckless environmental policy, which has deteriorated dramatically since Jair Bolsonaro took office as president on 1 January, numerous demonstrations are planned around the world on 23 August, organised by the climate justice movement Fridays for Future.
Protests outside Brazilian consulates
The movement, which was born last year following the solitary campaign of Greta Thunberg, has organised protest demonstrations outside Brazilian consulates in many cities across the globe, to denounce the fires in the Amazon and their dramatic environmental impact. "Right now, fires are destroying the Amazon rainforest at an alarming rate – reads the statement issued by Fridays for Future International. – Our home is literally burning and the lungs of our planet are turning to ash."
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#SOSAmazonia
Coordinated at an international level, the demonstrations, under the slogan #SOSAmazonia, call on the Brazilian government to protect its natural and cultural heritage, represented by native peoples. "We want a government that recognises the importance of nature and is committed to protecting our main natural wealth – said Daniela Borges of Fridays for Future Brazil. – A government that exercises strict control over companies that abuse our natural resources and prioritises the defence of indigenous peoples' rights." "Our war against nature must end," Greta Thunberg wrote in a tweet, while she is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sailing to New York.
Even out here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean I hear about the record amount of devastating fires in the Amazon. My thoughts are with those affected. Our war against nature must end.
The protests in Milan
In Italy too, the country that recorded the highest number of participants in the first global strike for the future last March, several protests are planned. In Milan, for example, the Fridays for Future Milan movement organised a demonstration outside the Brazilian consulate in Corso Europa. Legambiente Lombardia also joined the demonstration, scheduled from 11am to 1pm.
L'#Amazzonia brucia come non mai! Domani 23 agosto alle 11 partecipiamo con #FridayForFuture a presidio davanti a Consolato Brasiliano a Milano, contro politiche scellerate che stanno distruggendo il polmone del nostro pianeta. Fermare questa follia è una necessità! #SOSAmazonia
"Dozens of fires are devastating the rainforest amid the indifference of governments. Or rather, not indifference, but complicity – reads a statement issued by Fridays for Future Milan. – In the silence of the media, many Brazilian citizens did not even know what was happening. Then, a few days ago, the sky over São Paulo suddenly turned dark. In the middle of the day, an enormous black cloud covered the sun, plunging the Brazilian city into darkness. It was smoke from the fires that the wind had carried over the urban centre. From there, a social media mobilisation began under the hashtag #SOSAmazonia, which we are joining wholeheartedly."
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The other demonstrations in Italy
Similar protests will take place in Genova: after a gathering outside the consulate in Viale Pio VII at 5pm, demonstrators will move to Piazza De Ferrari, where a rally to raise public awareness is planned for 5.30pm. In Florence, the mobilisation, organised by Fridays for Future Florence, is scheduled for 6.30pm outside the Brazilian consulate in Piazza Pitti.
What Fridays for Future is demanding
Around the world, demonstrators from the climate movement are calling on Brazil to do what they have already asked of other governments: to take concrete action to keep the rise in average global temperature within 1.5 degrees and to guarantee climate justice. "This is not just a local problem," the movement stated, "but an issue with global repercussions and, therefore, we urge policymakers around the world to take the necessary action and to denounce the destruction of this essential ecosystem."