Brazil: Politicians and Petrobras pressure government despite environmental agency's recommendation against oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River
Wikipedia
"Politicians gang up on Brazil's environmental agency over Amazon oil drilling", 05 November 2024
...Ibama, Brazil's environmental protection agency, recently renewed its recommendation against allowing Petrobras, the country's state-controlled oil and gas company, to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon River.
Although the agency’s leadership left the door open to reconsidering its position — asking for “more specific adjustments to fully align the plan with the best practices for managing wildlife affected by oil” — politicians from Amapá, an Amazonian state, and the federal government have upped their rhetoric in favor of oil ventures in the region.
The oil bloc in question sits in the so-called Equatorial Margin, which is a region of reserves off the North and Northeast coast deemed one of the world’s most promising new oil frontiers. However, exploration there is riddled with environmental concerns.
“This is clearly a boycott against Brazil,” said Senator Davi Alcolumbre of Amapá — considered the head-and-shoulders favorite to win the February election for Senate president....
“We stand with Amapá and are committed to turning the state’s potential into real prosperity for its people,” said Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard...
On one side, Chief of Staff Rui Costa and Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira have been bullish on Brazil exploring new oil ventures — while the Environment Ministry has voiced its disagreements with that position. Environment Minister Marina Silva has compared drilling at the mouth of the Amazon River to the environmental destruction caused by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, one of the reasons she resigned from the first Lula cabinet in 2008 after her first stint as environment minister.
Mr. Silveira, a major defender of drilling on the Equatorial Margin, on Monday said the issue is paramount for “meeting the global energy demand"... Mr. Silveira and his group defend using fossil fuels as much as possible to pay for adopting clean energy. Environmentalists say this idea makes no sense at all...