Brazilian voters Sunday ousted President Jair Bolsonaro. In the closest election since the country’s return to democracy in 1985, voters decided to bring back former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who made climate a cornerstone of his campaign.
“Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis,” da Silva told supporters in his victory speech Sunday. “We will prove once again that it’s possible to generate wealth without destroying the environment.”
The pledge matters because Brazil contains much of the Amazon rainforest. Right now, the forest absorbs planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in tree roots, branches and the soil. By one estimate, there are 150 to 200 billion metric tons of carbon locked away in the forest. But that could change. If deforestation continues, the jungle may soon become a net emitter of greenhouse gases.