Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

2. What recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on the forest fires in the Amazon rain forest.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

5. What diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help tackle the fires in the Amazon rain forest.

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

15. What recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on the forest fires in the Amazon rain forest.

--- Later in debate ---

[Christopher Pincher]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s passion for the issue. I can confirm that we spend £120 million through our international climate finance programme. That goes to help to tackle deforestation and to help sustainable farming, and it complements the trading activities that we have with Brazil, which ensure that the Brazilian economy grows and prospers, including for those farmers, who are part and parcel of the problem, burning some of the rain forest.

[Daniel Zeichner]

Over 120,000 people have already petitioned this Parliament, urging trade sanctions to be used against Brazil to put pressure on it. Given that a Minister was in Brazil recently, what pressure was put on by this Government?

[Christopher Pincher]

The Minister of State, Department for International Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Conor Burns), was there as part of our international trade obligations, to ensure that we build trade with our strategic partners, such as Brazil. I will be seeing the Brazilian ambassador tomorrow and making clear that we want to help Brazil with its difficulties in these terrible fires, but also that we want to trade with it, because that is a way of building its economy and ensuring that the sorts of fires that are currently raging are put out and stay out.