Brazil to refuse money to fight Amazon fires
The Brazilian government has said it will reject an offer of aid from G7 countries to help tackle fires in the Amazon rain-forest.
French President Emmanuel Macron – who hosted a G7 summit that ended on Monday – said $22m (£18m) would be released.
But Brazilian ministers say the money is not needed and accuse foreign powers of wanting control of the Amazon.
Satellite data show fires – mostly in the Amazon region – are burning at record levels.
Commenting on the G7 offer of aid, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, told the Globo news website: “Thanks, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe.
“Macron cannot even avoid a predictable fire in a church that is part of the world’s heritage, and he wants to give us lessons for our country?” Mr Lorenzoni added, in a reference to the fire that hit Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in April.
All of this as the destruction of the Amazon is at a record high.