The Brazilian National Space Research Institute has reported fresh fires in the Amazon rainforest, which has been on fire for more than a week.
Some 2,500 fires have occurred in the past two days alone, with huge fires threatening the Amazon's forests and their role in the global ecological balance.
Since the beginning of this year, these forests, known as "lungs of the earth" have been exposed to more than 75 thousand fires, a record increase of 84% over the fires that broke out in these forests last year.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that fires raging in the Amazon rainforest were an international emergency.
In a tweet on Twitter, Macron called to discuss the issue at a summit of the Group of Seven, which begins Saturday in the southwestern city of Biarritz.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro responded to Macron's comments, accusing him of working with a colonial mindset and turning the Amazon issue into a tool for personal political gain.
| Macron believes his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro "lied" about his country's position on climate change (Anatolia) |
French accusation
For its part, the French presidency announced on Friday that President Emmanuel Macron believes that his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro "lied" about his country's position on climate change.
"In light of Brazil's position in recent weeks, the president can only consider that President Bolsonaro lied to him during the (G20) summit in Osaka," the Elysee said.
"President Bolsonaro has decided not to respect his climate commitments," she said. "In these circumstances, France opposes the Mercosur - the EU-South American trade agreement - as it stands."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said Friday that Britain was deeply concerned about the Amazon fires and that Johnson would use the G7 summit to call for a renewed focus on nature protection.
A spokeswoman for Johnson's office said, "The prime minister is deeply concerned about the extent of fires in the Amazon forests and the impact of this unfortunate loss of these precious habitats."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said it was imperative to discuss large-scale fires during the G7 summit.
Finnish Prime Minister Ante Rene, who currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, said the massive forest fires in Brazil "threaten the entire planet" and not just Brazil.