Highlights
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Sunday authorized the government to exempt spending on wildfires and droughts in the Amazon and Pantanal regions from this year’s fiscal target as the country grapples with the economic impacts of its worst drought on record.
The decision clears the way for the government to take action if it submits an executive order to Congress requesting extraordinary measures to address the situation.
According to the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, the current drought is the most intense and widespread in Brazil since records began in 1950, exacerbated by a weak rainy season in the north-central region, rising atmospheric temperatures, and land-use changes, with forest areas being replaced by pastures.