The head of Brazil's Senate said on Thursday he signed an agreement with the Supreme Court to assign 1 billion reais ($245 million) in graft money recovered in the Car Wash investigation to protect the Amazon.

"I thank all the institutions involved in this negotiation. Save our Amazon!" Senator Davi Alcolumbre wrote in a Twitter message. Brazil's government has come under wide criticism abroad for its tepid response to fires that have ravaged the Amazon rainforest, considered a bulwark against climate change.