Brazil is also getting ready for Climate Impacts Day! Activists in São Paulo prepared a fun invitation to call people to action on 5/5 and to connect the dots between climate change and deforestation to pressure President Dilma to veto the new forest code which is weak and full of loopholes for logging.

On April 25, changes in the Forest Code were approved in Congress. These changes will lead to more deforestation, reduction of permanent protection areas such as riverbanks, and the granting of amnesty to those who illegally cleared the forest, jeopardizing Brazil’s efforts to reduce their deforestation rates and greenhouse gas emissions. It is now up to President Dilma to approve or veto the law.

“We will organize a fun game to ask President Dilma to connect the dots and veto the new Forest Code. After all, we need to clarify the relationship between deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere that contribute to the climate crisis, characterized by the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as long periods of drought or heavy storms, that will affect thousands of people,” said Paula Collet, coordinator of 350.org in Brazil.

Other events highlights in Brazil are:

·   In Rio Branco (Northern Brazil), environmentalists from Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia are organizing an entire day dedicated to connecting the dots between the terrible flooding that has impacted the region and the broader climate crisis.

·   In Araranguá (southern Brazil), people are hosting an event to examine the ways civil society and government have worked together to recover from 2004’s Hurricane Catarina, the first tropical cyclone to ever hit shore in Brazil.

·   In the Região Serrana area of Rio de Janeiro, people will create a climate dot in an area where heavy rains created landslides that led to the death of many community members in the region.