Read More ]"/> Sting spoke out on behalf of indigenous people in Brazil who seek the government’s audience on concerns over a proposed hydro-electric dam in the Amazon.
The UK rocker gave a press conference in Sao Paulo that summoned a similar one he gave 20 years ago that drew worldwide attention. He said Brazil was in the frontline of the fight against climate change and its voice was now more important that two decades ago.Sting said: “This is the heart of the Amazon and what happens here affects the whole world. This was my intuition but now the science is backing that up, I mean substantial science is saying this is true. We need to save this forest. It is the biggest contribution to greenhouse gases – deforestation. Way beyond industrial pollution, way beyond the burning of fossil fuel for transport, or heating.”Sting said the world was looking to Brazil for leadership. He explained: “Brazil needs to say, OK, here’s how we solve this problem, here’s how we continue to develop but do not destroy the asset. The asset is incredibly important. We are looking to Brazil for leadership here. I can’t pretend to be an expert on hydro-electric power – that is ridiculous. At the same time I want all the arguments for and against to be heard. This is my only concern, then it is up to the Brazilian people.”Indigenous people say the Belo Monte dam – which would be the world’s third largest – threatens their way of life. Their leader, Chief Raoni, who stood beside Sting, said the authorities had not properly consulted his people on the project or listened to their voice. He said: “The authorities never called a meeting with us, with our leaders to explain this, to have a consultation over Belo Monte. If they had done this we would have understood things better. This is what I think is bad.”source: Splash News