The relationship between rural credit and deforestation in three Amazon states

The climate crisis is already part of people's daily lives. Measures to mitigate climate change need to be adopted urgently. 22% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to agriculture, forestry or other land use. 6% of Brazil's GDP comes from agriculture. To encourage this activity, banks provide rural credit at lower interest rates. However, we identified that some landowners who received rural credit are committing deforestation. Of 630 thousand rural properties in Rondônia, Pará and Mato Grosso, more than 27 thousand received 6 billion ($BRL) and committed more than 30 thousand km² of deforestation between 2008 and 2023 representing 1/3 of all deforestation in that period. The method presented here can help environmental and financial agencies monitor deforestation and loans.