Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290776 on Rain Forests: Amazonia, what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

The UK is concerned by data that suggests a surge in forest fires in the Amazon rainforest in 2019. Whilst the data is complex there is evidence that indicates this surge in fires follows months of accelerated deforestation. In recent years we have seen some evidence that climate change is making forest fires more frequent and severe in Amazon countries and elsewhere. Unlike previous years when El Niño caused severe droughts, climatic conditions were probably not a significant factor this year’s increase in fires.

Amazon countries are established key partners for the UK in our collective efforts to promote sustainable growth, tackle deforestation and mitigate climate change. As stated in my response on 2 October 2019, the UK supports a number initiatives, as part of multilateral climate funds and the UK’s bilateral relationship with several Amazon countries, that aim to: i) improve the capacity of governments to reduce deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results based payments; iii) enable businesses and communities to grow rural economies sustainably whilst protecting standing forests.

These initiatives continuously monitor and implement mitigation strategies for risks, such as increasing deforestation, in the course of their ongoing activities.