Election could help shape Amazon’s future

While Brazil’s presi-dential candidates have not made policy of the Amazon a major campaign topic, climate scientists and environmentalists say the winner of Sunday’s race could determine whether, and how soon, the world’s largest rainforest could reach a “tipping point”.

The key threshold, heavily debated among scientists, in simple terms would be when the dense, humid, moisture-generating forest shifts to a drier ecosystem. That would come with irreversible consequences for biodiversity and the climate, as the forest absorbs massive amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that drives global temperature to rise. Brazil contains about 60 per cent of the Amazon, which is spread across several countries in South America.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, trying to win a fourth non-consecutive term, has sought to curb deforestation and finance a sustainable economy through international donations and public and private funding. If he wins, he is expected to continue such policies.