Morale was high and more than $1 billion was raised to fight deforestation during a one-day climate change conference held in Paris on Thursday -- a stark contrast to the disappointment and discouraging Copenhagen talks just a few months ago.

Brazil to have 7 million more hectares of land for sugarcane production RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc announced an expansion project on Wednesday to have 7 million more hectares of land for planting sugarcane.

Legal challenges and a dispute between construction groups are threatening to delay the construction of a dam in the Amazon approved by Brazil earlier this week.

Brazil toughens environmental regulations RIO DE JANEIRO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed Tuesday a decree aiming to toughen the country's environmental law.

Brazil reduces estimate of 2008 Amazon rainforest destruction RIO DE JANEIRO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc Tuesday said the government has revised its estimate of the Amazon rainforest's total destruction area for 2008 from 15,000 to 13,000 square km.