New Brazilian Congress not likely to address climate

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil has a major role to play in addressing climate change as home to the world's largest rainforest, but after Sunday's election, the subject is less likely to come up than ever.

In the country's lower house of Congress, the Liberal Party of President Jair Bolsonaro increased its share by 30%, jumping from 76 to 99 seats. The Liberal Party has one of the worst environmental records among the country’s many parties, according to two Congress watchdogs. One of the new lawmakers is former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, a fierce agribusiness ally who has dismissed climate change as a “useless debate.” On his watch, Brazil’s environmental agencies were weakened and Amazon deforestation spiked to its highest rate in 15 years.

Salles was the subject of two investigations by Brazil's federal police and resigned as environment minister in 2021. The probes looked into whether he tried to block the seizure of illegal timber and aided in its export. Salles has denied any wrongdoing.

Salles was elected to represent Sao Paulo state with a massive 641,000 votes. In Congress he will join the so-called beef caucus, which currently includes almost half the lawmakers in both houses, according to Congresso em Foco, a news website focused on Congress coverage.