The Amazon rainforest could face a renewed surge of deforestation as efforts grow to overturn a long-standing ban that has protected it.
The ban - which prohibits the sale of soya grown on land cleared after 2008 - is widely credited with curbing deforestation and has been held up as a global environmental success story.
But powerful farming interests in Brazil, backed by a group of Brazilian politicians, are pushing to lift the restrictions as the COP30 UN climate conference enters its second week.
Critics of the ban say it is an unfair cartel which allows a small group of powerful companies to dominate the Amazon's soya trade.
Environmental groups have warned removing the ban would be disaster, opening the way for a new wave of land grabbing to plant more soya in the world's largest rainforest.
Scientists say ongoing deforestation, combined with the effects of climate change, is already driving the Amazon towards a potential tipping point – a threshold beyond which the rainforest can no longer sustain itself.
Brazil is the world's largest producer of soya beans, a staple crop grown for its protein and an important animal feed. Much of the meat consumed in the UK includes feeds that include soya beans from the Brazilian Amazon.
Public opinion in the UK supports protecting the Amazon, with surveys indicating substantial backing for action against illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.
The pressure to lift the moratorium comes as Brazil prepares to open a major new railway, which is expected to significantly cut transport costs for soya and agricultural products.
Scientists warn that if deforestation continues unchecked, vast areas of rainforest could be transformed into savannah or dry grassland, leading to devastating ecological consequences.
