In response to record fires across South America, with several millions of hectares burning across the Amazon basin and the entire continent, Amnesty International today published an Open Letter addressed to the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru calling for governments to ramp up action to extinguish wildfires, strengthen efforts to abandon fossil fuels, protect territories of Indigenous Peoples, and provide guarantees to environmental human rights defenders.
August and September 2024 have seen record fires across South America, with several millions of hectares burning not only in rainforests of the Amazon basin, but also in diverse ecosystems stretching across entire countries.
“The world is watching and cannot wait for the Amazon basin and other precious ecosystems in the continent to be saved from extinction. South American leaders must, more than ever, take urgent action to prevent climate catastrophe that could have irreversible consequences for the entire planet and future generations. The time to act is now,” said Ana Piquer, directora para las Américas de Amnistía Internacional.
The world is watching and cannot wait for the Amazon basin and other precious ecosystems in the continent to be saved from extinction. South American leaders must, more than ever, take urgent action to prevent climate catastrophe that could have irreversible consequences for the entire planet and future generations. The time to act is now.
Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
The publication of the Open Letter coincides with the United Nations´ Summit of the Future, in New York on 23 September, which will be attended by. Amnesty International´s Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
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