Brazil allocates R514mn to combat fires: Correction

Corrects value of funding in headline and lead.

Brazil will allocate R514mn ($94.3mn) to combat fires spreading across the country, presidential chief of staff Rui Costa and environment minister Marina Silva said this week.

The funds are considered "extraordinary" and not a part of the country's overall budget because they are part of a special budget authorized by the supreme court to tackle climate change.

Brazil is facing severe drought in all states but two, leading to fires in several regions. The flames are likely to cut the country's 2024-25 sugarcane output, while low river levels have roiled logistics.

Part of the funds will be allocated to the environment ministry to reinforce monitoring and combating fires, Costa said. The federal police and the national public security force will also receive extra resources to reinforce investigations and battle environmental crimes.

The armed forces will also receive some funds to support operations to extinguish the flames. Another portion will be earmarked to buy food for families in the north that are affected by the low water levels caused by droughts.

The government will also issue another provisional measure this week to ease the release of resources from the Amazon Fund, Costa said.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, supreme court chief justice Luis Roberto Barroso, head of the senate Rodrigo Pacheco and lower house speaker Arthur Lira all attended the announcement as a show of unity among the branches.

Brazil is also considering increasing penalties for environmental crimes, which Silva considers to be "too low" at the moment.

"The sentence of two to four years in prison is light," she said. "And some judges go further and completely relax this sentence."

Brazil — which is trying to bolster its image as a climate leader — is also considering creating a climate authority and technical-scientific committee to "support and coordinate the federal government's actions to combat climate change."

By Lucas Parolin