The Brazilian head of state, questioned by the Lusa agency during an interview with six international agencies, stressed that this summit of leaders could “stimulate or discourage” COP30 and that world leaders must send the message “to the entire world” that they want to solve climate problems.
Between this Thursday and Friday, the Brazilian Amazonian city of Belém hosts around 60 heads of State and Government who will discuss the fight against and demonstrate what they are willing to do.
The Climate Summit convened by Brazil, which precedes the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), will bring together delegations from 143 countries, of which just over a third will be led by their respective national leaders, with the confirmed absence of the three leaders of the most polluting countries in the world – China, the United States and India.
Among the leaders who publicly confirmed their presence are the French President, Emmanuel Macronthe British Prime Minister, Keir Starmerthe President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro.
“A privileged space for countries to discuss”
On Tuesday, the Brazilian head of state, questioned by the Lusa agency during an interview with six international agencies, stressed that this summit of leaders could “stimulate or discourage” COP30 and that world leaders must pass “to the whole world” the message that they want to solve climate problems.
“A privileged space for countries to discuss (…) what we are willing to do”, summarized the Brazilian head of state, referring to COP30 which will take place between 10 and 21 November also in Belém.
Adopted in 2015, the Paris Agreement commits its signatories to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, so that global warming does not exceed the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial levels, and it is now expected that, 10 years later, countries will launch new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) for the next 10 years.
According to calculations by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) released on Tuesday, Earth’s warming is expected to reach between 2.3 and 2.5 °C this century above pre-industrial era levels if countries implement climate plans planned so far.
The Climate Summit agenda includes the General Plenary of Leaders, with speeches by heads of state and representatives of international organizations, in addition to thematic sessions chaired by Lula da Silva dedicated to the themes of Climate and Nature, Forests and Oceans, Energy Transition and Ten years of the Paris Agreement: NDC and Financing.
Lula da Silva will also launch a global fund to protect tropical forests, with which he intends to put an end to the concept of “donation” and promote investments and financing that help maintain jungles.
In a COP30 that is seen as one of “implementation”, there is, however, a huge elephant in the host’s room: the oil.
During the interview with international correspondents, on Tuesday in Belém, Lula da Silva refused to assume the role of environmental leadership and stressed that it would be inconsistent on his part to prevent oil prospecting near Foz do Amazonas.
“I don’t want to be an environmental leader. That’s not what I want,” said Lula da Silva in response to Lusa.
“It would be inconsistent if I, in an act of irresponsibility, said: Well, we are not going to use any more oil”, he stressed, referring to the authorization given to the state-owned Petrobras to prospect for oil off the Amazon.
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, it was mentioned by first time for countries to move away from – mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming and consequent climate change -, but the reference disappeared at the following summit.
The Brazilian Government intends to present itself in Belém as a leader of the climate agenda, thanks to the fight against deforestation in the Amazon, but several non-governmental organizations have criticized the continued focus on oil extraction in an area as sensitive as the Amazon coast and filed a lawsuit in Brazilian court to annul Petrobras’ oil research license in an area close to the mouth of the Amazon River.
Between this Thursday and Friday, the Brazilian Amazonian city of Belém hosts around 60 heads of State and Government who will discuss the fight against and demonstrate what they are willing to do.
The Climate Summit convened by Brazil, which precedes the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), will bring together delegations from 143 countries, of which just over a third will be led by their respective national leaders, with the confirmed absence of the three leaders of the most polluting countries in the world – China, the United States and India.
Among the leaders who publicly confirmed their presence are the French President, Emmanuel Macronthe British Prime Minister, Keir Starmerthe President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro.
“A privileged space for countries to discuss”
On Tuesday, the Brazilian head of state, questioned by the Lusa agency during an interview with six international agencies, stressed that this summit of leaders could “stimulate or discourage” COP30 and that world leaders must pass “to the whole world” the message that they want to solve climate problems.
“A privileged space for countries to discuss (…) what we are willing to do”, summarized the Brazilian head of state, referring to COP30 which will take place between 10 and 21 November also in Belém.
Adopted in 2015, the Paris Agreement commits its signatories to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, so that global warming does not exceed the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial levels, and it is now expected that, 10 years later, countries will launch new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) for the next 10 years.
According to calculations by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) released on Tuesday, Earth’s warming is expected to reach between 2.3 and 2.5 °C this century above pre-industrial era levels if countries implement climate plans planned so far.
The Climate Summit agenda includes the General Plenary of Leaders, with speeches by heads of state and representatives of international organizations, in addition to thematic sessions chaired by Lula da Silva dedicated to the themes of Climate and Nature, Forests and Oceans, Energy Transition and Ten years of the Paris Agreement: NDC and Financing.
Lula da Silva will also launch a global fund to protect tropical forests, with which he intends to put an end to the concept of “donation” and promote investments and financing that help maintain jungles.
In a COP30 that is seen as one of “implementation”, there is, however, a huge elephant in the host’s room: the oil.
During the interview with international correspondents, on Tuesday in Belém, Lula da Silva refused to assume the role of environmental leadership and stressed that it would be inconsistent on his part to prevent oil prospecting near Foz do Amazonas.
“I don’t want to be an environmental leader. That’s not what I want,” said Lula da Silva in response to Lusa.
“It would be inconsistent if I, in an act of irresponsibility, said: Well, we are not going to use any more oil”, he stressed, referring to the authorization given to the state-owned Petrobras to prospect for oil off the Amazon.
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, it was mentioned by first time for countries to move away from – mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming and consequent climate change -, but the reference disappeared at the following summit.
The Brazilian Government intends to present itself in Belém as a leader of the climate agenda, thanks to the fight against deforestation in the Amazon, but several non-governmental organizations have criticized the continued focus on oil extraction in an area as sensitive as the Amazon coast and filed a lawsuit in Brazilian court to annul Petrobras’ oil research license in an area close to the mouth of the Amazon River.
