British govt pledges £10 million to help restore fire-ravaged Amazon, says Boris Johnson at G7 Summit in France
The pledge came after Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting G7 summit, said that world leaders had agreed to help countries affected by wildfires
-
Boris Johnson on Monday pledged 10 million pounds to help restore the Amazon rainforest
-
The money would be made available immediately to help restore the habitat, including areas that have been hit by the fires
-
The pledge came after Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting G7 summit, said that world leaders had agreed to help countries affected by wildfires
Biarritz: British prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday pledged 10 million pounds ($12.3 million) to help restore the Amazon rainforest which has been ravaged by fires, sparking a wave of global concern.
The money would be made available immediately to help restore the habitat, including areas that have been hit by the fires, the British government said in a statement released at the G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz.
File image of Boris Johnson. PTI
The pledge came after French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the summit, said on Sunday that world leaders had agreed to help the countries affected by the wildfires as soon as possible.
"In a week where we have all watched, horrified, as the Amazon rainforest burns before our eyes, we cannot escape the reality of the damage we are inflicting on the natural world," Johnson said in a statement.
Although about 60 percent of the Amazon is in Brazil, the vast forest also takes in parts Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Macron's bid to put the Amazon crisis high on the agenda at the G7 angered Brazil's far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who lashed out over what he sees as outside interference, denouncing the French leader's "colonialist mentality".
Johnson also said it was essential for the international community to tackle the key environmental issues of climate change and biodiversity loss. "These are two sides of the same coin, it is impossible to solve one challenge without fixing the other," he said.
"We cannot stop climate change without protecting the natural environment and we can't restore global nature without tackling climate change." He confirmed Britain hopes to host the 2020 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, which experts see as a critical moment in testing the commitments of governments to fight against global warming.
Johnson said the conference "will have as a major focus the solutions to climate change that can be found in nature, such as reforestation".
also read
Protests, strikes, fuel shortages as pensions fury rages in France
As thousands took to the streets in protest, planes landing at Paris airports faced potential fuel shortages, rubbish kept piling up, and questions hung over a looming state visit by King Charles III
France protests: Dozens arrested after Macron govt narrowly survives no-confidence vote
The failure of the vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64
Violent French pension protests erupt as 1M demonstrate
In Paris, street battles between police and black-clad, masked groups who attacked at least two fast food restaurants, a supermarket and a bank reflected intensifying violence and drew attention away from the tens of thousands of peaceful marchers