Brazil's Amazon faces record fires and soy moratorium threat

In 2024 the Brazilian Amazon experienced the highest number of fires in two decades, driven by lucrative soy, gold and beef enterprises and a lack of decisive action from the government under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A documentary released this year highlights the role of illegal logging, organized environmental crime and the complicity of officials, while indigenous activists and scientists warn that even protected areas are burning.

At the same time, the soy moratorium – a 2006 agreement that bars the purchase of soy grown on recently deforested land – is under severe pressure. The Nature Conservancy warns that the withdrawal of major traders such as Cargill, Bunge and ADM could open up 9.2 million hectares, an area comparable to Portugal, to new deforestation. The move threatens Brazil’s pledge to achieve zero‑deforestation by 2030 and is being contested in the Brazilian Supreme Court after a Mato Grosso law that penalised companies for respecting the moratorium was temporarily suspended. Environmental NGOs argue that without a transparent monitoring system the Amazon’s future remains in jeopardy.