“There’s a real convergence to say: ‘let’s all agree to help those countries hit by these fires’,” he told reporters in Biarritz, which is hosting the annual summit of leaders from the Group of Seven nations.
He said the G7 countries comprising the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada, were finalising a possible deal on “technical and financial help”.
Macron shunted the Amazon fires to the top of the summit agenda after declaring them a global emergency, and kicked off discussions about the disaster at a welcome dinner for fellow leaders on Saturday.
An EU official, who declined to be named, said the G7 leaders had agreed to do everything they could to help tackle the fires, giving Macron a mandate to contact all the countries in the Amazon region to see what was needed.
“It was the easiest part of the talks,” the official said.
A record number of fires are ravaging the rainforest, many of them in Brazil, drawing international concern because of the Amazon’s importance to the global environment.
Macron last week accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government of not doing enough to protect the area and of lying about its environmental commitments.
Macron yesterday said world powers needed to be ready to help with reforestation, but acknowledged there were different views over this aspect, without going into details.
“There are several sensitivities which were raised around the table because all of that also depends on the Amazon countries,” he said, adding that the world’s biggest rainforest was vital to the future of the planet.
“While respecting sovereignty, we must have a goal of reforestation and we must help each country to develop economically,” he said.
Meanwhile Brazil yesterday deployed two C-130 Hercules aircraft to douse fires devouring parts of the Amazon rainforest, as hundreds of new blazes were ignited ahead of nationwide protests over the destruction.
Heavy smoke covered the city of Porto Velho in the northwestern state of Rondonia where the defence ministry said the planes have started dumping thousands of litres of water, amid a global uproar over the worst fires in years.
Swathes of the remote region bordering Bolivia have been scorched by the blazes, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky and increasing air pollution across the world’s largest rainforest, which is seen as crucial to mitigating climate change.
Experts say increased land clearing during the months-long dry season to make way for crops or grazing has aggravated the problem this year.
“It gets worse every year — this year, the smoke has been really serious,” Deliana Amorim, 46, said in Porto Velho where half a million people live.
At least seven states, including Rondonia, have requested the army’s help in the Amazon, where more than 43,000 troops are based and available to combat fires, officials said.
