Brazil's Environment Minister announces expanded wildfire response as El Niño looms

Facing a forecasted El Niño that raises wildfire risk, Brazil's Minister of Environment and Climate Change João Paulo Capobianco said the government has intensified monitoring and deployed the largest brigade contingent in the country's history. He noted the addition of more aircraft, equipment and over half a million reais in support for state fire departments.

Capobianco also highlighted recent deforestation declines – Amazon forest loss halved, Cerrado down 32% and Pantanal down 65% – and linked protection of biomes to reduced greenhouse‑gas emissions. The ministry has created more than a dozen new environmental reserves and recognized indigenous and quilombola territories. International cooperation for the Amazon Fund has resumed, now backed by nine donor countries and a record R$ 204 billion in public and private resources for sustainable development in Brazil.