Despite President Bolsonaro's critical statements on the Paris Agreement, Salles has defended that Brazil should remain in the accord, while adding that the country "must be allowed to retain its autonomy when making environmental decisions". Salles has been criticized both in Brazil and internationally for relaxing regulations in favor of economic interests of the country's agribusiness, increasing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and aggravating its consequences, like the 2019 wildfires, which prompted many calls for his resignation.