Perhaps it is no surprise that the people involved in that onslaught have found their ways into positions in which they can “legally” make decisions about the Amazon’s precious trees and fauna.

There is now evidence that can be used by countries who want to sue the heaviest polluters in the world: the United States, China, Brazil, Russia, and India.

In 2019, a Nepali woman named Kanchhi Maya Tamang used her climb of Mount Everest to spread awareness about climate change. Her reasoning: “When we speak from the top of the world, our voices can be heard louder,” said Tamang, 31, who has summited Everest three times.

Because extractive industries are generally located in communities with the least power to fight their existence, people who live in areas mostly composed of indigenous people and people of color, among others, are poised to be hit hardest by a new reduction of environmental regulatory authority.