The President stated, this Wednesday (June 10), that environmental agreements serve to combat fires and extreme weather events
The president (PT) stated, this Wednesday (June 10, 2026), that Brazil is “prepared” to face the possible impacts of the next El Niño. During a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto focused on the environmental agenda, the PT member said that the government anticipated the risks of fires and climate disasters predicted for the coming months and that, for the first time, the country is organizing itself in advance to face the effects of the phenomenon.
“Look, I just wanted to alert you to the following, for the first time, we are taking the lead, including in the fight to combat the possible fires that will come, because the outlook is that El Niño will be very violent and that we could have more climate disasters. For the first time, we are prepared in advance to face this situation”stated Lula.
The statement was made during the announcement of a package of environmental measures that included R$2 billion for actions by Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), in addition to the regulation of instruments for preventing and combating forest fires.
Among the actions announced by the federal government are:
- Creation of the Indigenous Peoples National Park of the Tanaru River (RO)with 7.6 thousand hectares, to protect the territory where the last known survivor of the Tanaru people lived and preserve an area of Amazon rainforest;
- Expansion of the Serra das Confusões National Park (PI) on around 92 thousand hectares, strengthening the protection of forests, springs, aquifers and ecosystems in the Caatinga;
- Regulation of the National Environmental Fundallowing faster transfers to States and municipalities for actions to combat forest fires and animal protection;
- Regulation of the National Payment Policy for Environmental Serviceswhich creates rules to remunerate rural producers, communities and other agents who help conserve forests, rivers and other natural resources;
- Creation of Sintrilhas (National Trail System)which will organize a network of approximately 205 trails and more than 41 thousand kilometers of routes in protected areas, with a focus on sustainable tourism and environmental conservation;
- Creation of APBio (Alliance of National Public Institutions for Scientific and Technological Research for Biodiversity)aimed at strengthening research on biodiversity, Brazilian genetic heritage and traditional knowledge;
- Sanction of the National Policy for the Recovery of Caatinga Vegetation1st specific legal framework for biome recovery, with incentives for environmental restoration, water security, bioeconomy and sustainable production;
- Launch of the Recaatingar Programwith an initial investment of R$60 millionintended for the recovery of degraded areas and sustainable development in the Caatinga;
- Sanction of the law that recognizes the craft of babassu coconut breakers as national cultural heritagevaluing a traditional activity developed mainly by women from Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Pará;
- Raising R$370 million for the ARPA Comunidades programaimed at strengthening the socio-bioeconomy and conserving around 23 million hectares of the Amazon through support for traditional communities;
- Release of R$834 million from the Climate Fund for native vegetation restoration projects in different biomes, with the potential to mobilize approximately R$2.7 billion in total investments;
- Confirmation of the donation of R$270 million from the United Kingdom to the Amazon Fundconsolidating the country as the 2nd largest funder of the program, behind only Norway;
- Allocation of R$ 150 million from the Amazon Fund for the Indigenous Sanitation noticewhich will finance access to water and sanitation systems in indigenous lands in Acre, Amazonas and Pará;
- Formalization of 58 contracts under the Restaura Amazônia programaimed at recovering around 15 thousand hectares of native forest in settlements, indigenous lands and conservation units;
- Creation of the National Plan for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communitieswhich will coordinate public policies for 28 social segments, including quilombolas, extractivists, caiçaras, pantaneiros and babaçu coconut breakers;
- Announcement of around R$2 billion for Ibama and ICMBio actions in the Rio Doce basinaimed at environmental recovery, inspection and strengthening environmental management in the region.
ALERTS THE CHILD
The statements were made after warnings from the scientific community about the formation of a new episode of . Projections from the ECMWF (European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), considered one of the main global references in climate forecasting, indicate that surface temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean could remain between 3°C and 4°C above average until December. If the scenario is confirmed, the phenomenon could surpass historical episodes recorded in 1997-1998 and 2015-2016.
The WMO (World Meteorological Organization) also warned that there is more than a 90% probability of the phenomenon remaining active until November. According to the entity, El Niño tends to intensify droughts, floods, heat waves and other extreme events in different regions of the planet.
RURAL INSURANCE CONCERNS AGRO
Despite the government’s preparedness speech, it has expressed concern about the reduction in resources allocated to mitigating climate risks.
The (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock) blocked R$461.7 million from the PSR budget (Rural Insurance Premium Subsidy Program) in 2026. The amount represents 45.6% of the allocation available for the program, which subsidizes part of the costs of agricultural insurance contracted by producers.
The PSR’s initial budget was R$1.01 billion. After a definitive cut of R$25 million and the additional blockade, just over R$529 million remained available for immediate execution.
The contingency is part of the blockade announced by the federal government, at the end of May, to comply with the rules of the fiscal framework. Containment in rural insurance represents around 59% of the R$788 million blocked in the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget.
Data from Mapa shows that the number of policies contracted fell from 82 thousand in 2021 to 26 thousand in 2025, a reduction of 68.3% in 4 years.
CONGRESS PRESSURE
The decrease in resources occurs while the ruralist bench is trying to come up with a project to modernize rural insurance and expand coverage to producers for the 2026/2027 harvest.
The text was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May and is awaiting analysis by the Senate. Members of the FPA (Agricultural Parliamentary Front) demanded that the Minister of Agriculture, André de Paula, preserve the program’s resources and began to defend the summoning of government members to provide clarifications on the budgetary blockages.
Sector entities also reacted. Faep (Agricultural Federation of the State of Paraná) stated that the reduction in resources increases the vulnerability of producers to the possibility of a new episode of El Niño.
Experts warn that the phenomenon could significantly alter the rainfall regime in Brazil, increasing the risk of droughts in the Amazon and part of the Northeast and increasing the occurrence of intense rainfall in the South. The scenario could affect agricultural productivity, put pressure on prices and increase losses for producers without insurance coverage.
For Cemaden researchers, preparation for extreme events should not depend exclusively on confirming El Niño, but be part of a permanent climate adaptation policy, with continuous investments in prevention, infrastructure and risk management.
