Kearns- The G7 Summit is an annual meeting of the world’s most powerful leaders to discuss topics including environmental and political issues. This year the meeting was held in Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France and lasted August 24-26. The event was attended by the European Union along with the countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Topics discussed at the meeting focused on issues concerning climate change, Iran, and the Amazon Rain forest fires. Foreign aid was offered to help with the fires, but the donation was rejected by the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro.

This year the Amazon Rainforest has seen more than 80,000 fires this year, a drastic increase since 2018. This caused President Bolsonaro to issue a burning ban on August 29th, announcing that a meeting with South American leaders will be held on September 6 discuss this environmental crisis. Many believe the fires to be caused by deforestation, made worse by the rainforest’s dry season. Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, was even plunged into darkness by the smoke coming from the burning forest.