Boris Johnson will today announce £10 million of funding to help protect and restore the Amazon rainforest in Brazil – including in areas affected by the current fires.

More than 72,000 fires have been recorded in Brazil so far this year, many of them in the Amazon rainforest where farmers are illegally deforesting land to make way for cattle and crops.

They have been to emboldened to break the law after President Jair Bolsonaro signalled his intention to help the economy by boosting agriculture and mining.

But leaders around the world have criticised the president and are pressuring him to curb the blazes.

Financial assistance

They are also proposing to step up financial assistance to protect the forest.

In addition to the £10 millon pledge, the prime minister will announce that the UK is increasing its contribution to the international Green Climate Fund. The fund’s projects safeguard forests and land – including in the Amazon – as well as working to reduce emissions, and help people cope with the effects of climate change in developing countries.

At the G7 meeting in France, Mr Johnson will underline that biodiversity and climate change are “two sides of the same coin” and must be addressed in tandem if we are to protect the planet. The destruction of forests and other habitats creates emissions that contribute to and accelerate the rate of climate change.

G7 summit

Ahead of today’s G7 session on climate change and the environment, Mr Johnson said: “In a week where we have all watched, horrified, as the Amazon rainforest burns before our eyes, we cannot escape the reality of the damage we are inflicting on the natural world.

“The planet faces two immense threats: climate change and biodiversity loss. These are two sides of the same coin – it is impossible to solve one challenge without fixing the other.

“We cannot stop climate change without protecting the natural environment and we can’t restore global nature without tackling climate change,” he added.