In 1987, Sting co-founded the Rainforest Foundation Fund, a charitable NGO that works to defend the rights of the Indigenous populations living in Central and South America. In the midst of Brazil's Amazon broiling away at the behest of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, the musician has now shared a statement on the "unprecedented" blaze.
"Amazonia is on fire at an unprecedented rate — 80 percent up from last year and with 39 percent more deforestation — and the world is suddenly taking notice," Sting wrote in a post shared to social media.
"Populist leaders citing nationalist agendas, or claiming that climate change and its handmaidens are a hoax, are guilty of much more than standing by and doing nothing. This is criminal negligence on a global scale."
Sting writes that "this is no place for the outdated bromides of nationalism in a world where we all breathe the same air and where we will all suffer the consequences of this wilful negligence," adding, "We are fast approaching the tipping point where the fires will continue to burn and cannot be put out."
He continued: "We appeal to the Brazilian government to change the policy that has opened up Amazonia for exploitation. Nationalist rhetoric has effectively ignited the flames which threaten to engulf the most important living laboratory on the planet. Countless species are in danger of immediate extinction."
Find Sting's full statement below.
"Amazonia is on fire at an unprecedented rate — 80 percent up from last year and with 39 percent more deforestation — and the world is suddenly taking notice," Sting wrote in a post shared to social media.
"Populist leaders citing nationalist agendas, or claiming that climate change and its handmaidens are a hoax, are guilty of much more than standing by and doing nothing. This is criminal negligence on a global scale."
Sting writes that "this is no place for the outdated bromides of nationalism in a world where we all breathe the same air and where we will all suffer the consequences of this wilful negligence," adding, "We are fast approaching the tipping point where the fires will continue to burn and cannot be put out."
He continued: "We appeal to the Brazilian government to change the policy that has opened up Amazonia for exploitation. Nationalist rhetoric has effectively ignited the flames which threaten to engulf the most important living laboratory on the planet. Countless species are in danger of immediate extinction."
Find Sting's full statement below.
