Several events, including a drought in the Amazon rain forest, are pushing Brazilian policy makers to pay more attention to climate change. While Brazil has always resisted foreign involvement in its management of the Amazon, it is now willing to discuss more issues in negotiations.

Deforestation in the Amazon rain forest is a major environmental concern, both because of the carbon it releases, and because of the carbon the trees could have absorbed if they had remained. By many calculations the deforestation makes Brazil the fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.

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