One voice needed over Amazon fires: China Daily editorial

French President Emmanuel Macron has called the raging fires in the Amazon rainforest "an international crisis" and threatened to pull out of a planned trade deal with Brazil and its regional partners should the latter fail to respond properly. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees a need for international action "to extinguish the fires and to protect habitat and biodiversity". And even the leader of the United States, a famous disbeliever in climate change, has offered to help deal with them.

Although he has finally decided to dispatch armed forces to fight the fires, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called Macron's comments "sensationalist", and responding to accusations that the fires are due to his alleged connivance in the aggressive exploitation of the Brazilian rainforest, he attributed the fires to dry, hot weather and the deliberate actions of nongovernmental organizations whose funding has been cut.

He has reason to argue that the fires are an "internal issue" of Brazil and the countries directly involved. But the consequences will be felt far beyond those countries. For that alone, it is no exaggeration to address it as an "international crisis". And there is nothing inappropriate in the calls for international assistance, especially considering the Amazon forests produce about 20 percent of the world's oxygen.

While the legitimacy of the rhetoric about sanctioning Bolsonaro's government may be open to question, the latter should appreciate the international community's sincere wish to help preserve the critically important Amazon rainforest. It would be great if Brazil and other victims of the fires can handle the matter themselves. But given the scale of the problem they may want to accept outside assistance. After all, the single most imperative task now is prevent the fires from wreaking further havoc.

It is sad it took the fires to lend an additional sense of urgency to the issue of climate change and the environment at the ongoing G7 summit in France. It would be sadder still if global leaders continue to remain divided over what the fires mean for the global environment.

The US president for one has yet to come to terms with the climate change discourse. Or he would not have withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. It would be very unfortunate if the Amazon fires again fail to ring the alarm bell for him.

No matter how the G7 leaders define the Amazon fires, it is time they spoke in one voice on climate change and acted with a due sense of urgency.