In 2024, Brazil experienced a **devastation by fires**, with a **dramatic 79% increase** in the burned vegetal surface compared to the previous year, resulting in the **burning of 30.8 million hectares**, especially in the **Amazon**, as revealed by a recent report from the monitoring platform MapBiomas. This figure **represents an area larger than Italy and is the highest recorded since 2019, according to satellite measurements** from the agency.
This increase poses a significant challenge for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who in November will host the **UN COP30 climate conference in Belém**, located in the Amazon. The most affected region was the **Amazon**, with 17.9 million hectares devastated by fire, representing 58% of the country’s total, and marking a **record of burned area in the last six years**.
MapBiomas Fire coordinator, Ane Alencar, described 2024 as an ‘atypical and alarming’ year regarding **forest fires in Brazil**. Alencar expressed particular concern about fires in forests, crucial for **carbon capture**, which reached 8.5 million hectares burned in 2024, compared to 2.2 million in 2023. **For the first time, fire devastated more forests than grasslands in the Amazon**, highlighting the vulnerability of these ecosystems to future fires.
Scientists attribute these fires to **climate change**, which dries out vegetation, making it more susceptible to fire. However, fires are mainly caused by **human activities** such as land clearing for grazing and agriculture, a practice that often goes unpunished. Ane Alencar emphasized the urgent need for actions to contain this **environmental crisis**, exacerbated by **extreme weather conditions** and human activities.
The state of Pará, in the **Amazon**, was the most affected, with 7.3 million hectares burned in 2024. Its capital, Belém, will host COP30, where President Lula will seek to position **Brazil** as a **leader in the fight against climate change**. Despite the challenges, Lula has promised to **halt deforestation in the Amazon by 2030** and has shown encouraging figures, such as a more than 30% reduction in deforestation until August 2024.
Facing the withdrawal of the **United States from the Paris Agreement** under the administration of Donald Trump, Brazil will have to strive to **advance its environmental commitments during COP30**, according to André Correa do Lago, the conference’s director.
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