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Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – The president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, proposed this Wednesday to organize the 2025 UN climate conference in the Amazon and announced the creation of a Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, upon arrival at COP27 that is being held in Egypt.
Received with cheers and applause by hundreds of people at the Sharm el Sheikh conference, ‘Lula’ assured that he will wage a “very strong fight” against deforestation, and that he will speak “a lot” with indigenous peoples.
“We are going to put an end to the degradation process that our tropical forests are experiencing,” he proclaimed.
‘Lula’ affirmed that the future ministry of the Original Peoples is a measure of justice, so that the indigenous “are not treated as bandits”, he declared.
With six weeks to go until he takes office on January 1, ‘Lula’ actually kicked off his diplomatic agenda in this Egyptian resort with meetings with the US special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, and the Chinese chief negotiator, Xhi Zhenhua , in addition to other bilateral ones.
“Brazil is back,” said the 77-year-old leftist leader. “Brazil cannot be isolated as it has been in the last four years. Brazil is too big,” he added.
We are going to talk as the General Secretary of the UN so that the next COP will be done in Brazil, in the Amazon. It is important that the people who defend the Amazon know the region and the concrete reality. #COP27
– Lula (@LulaOficial) November 16, 2022
His speech took place in a pavilion set up at COP27 by the Amazonia Legal consortium, which brings together the nine states of the Brazilian Amazon basin.
A few meters away was the official pavilion of the Jair Bolsonaro government, which also has an active agenda of public events at COP27.
Amazonia or Pará, the venues proposed by ‘Lula’ for COP30
The celebration of the COP30 in Brazil in 2025 could take place in the state of Amazonia or Pará, explained the president-elect.
The little pavilion was packed with people an hour and a half before they arrived.
‘Lula’ participates as a special guest of the Egyptian presidency of the UN climate conference.
His arrival generated enthusiasm in this meeting in which almost 200 countries participate and which lives with concern the acceleration of climate change.
Delegates in Sharm el Sheikh are locked in difficult negotiations over the possible creation of a climate change loss and damage fund.
John Kerry, “encouraged” by his meeting with ‘Lula’
“I felt encouraged by the way he spoke, to face the problem once and for all, to preserve the Amazon,” John Kerry said Wednesday, referring to his meeting with Lula the day before.
“We will work diligently to achieve that goal together with our allies, Norway, Germany and other countries that have been deeply committed to it for a long time,” he added.
Average annual deforestation in the Amazon increased 75% over the previous decade during Jair Bolsonaro’s tenure.
Norway and Germany announced, after Lula’s victory, that they were willing to resume their financial support to preserve the virgin Amazon rainforest in Brazil, after withdrawing it in 2019 shortly after Bolsonaro came to power.
Norway is the largest contributor to that fund, and according to its environment ministry, $641 million is currently available.
The challenges to preserve the Amazon
Before his visit, the first abroad since his electoral triumph on October 30, Lula had sent several trusted figures to prepare the ground, such as former Environment Ministers Marina Silva (2003-2008) and Izabella Teixeira (2010- 2016).
Brazil concentrates 60% of the Amazon, one of the largest CO2 sinks on the planet, distributed among nine countries and essential in the fight against climate change.
Deforestation on the Brazilian side, according to official data, reached a maximum in 15 years in the 2020-2021 period due to the promotion of mining and agricultural activities by the Bolsonaro government.
That devastation accounts for almost half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Observatorio do Clima, an NGO.
The deputy and indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara, present at Lula’s act, urged the president-elect to “think with the people about the social policies” of Brazil.
In particular, he summoned him to complete the demarcation of five indigenous territories in his first months of government.
For her part, former minister Marina Silva advocated a reforestation target of 12 million hectares.
The UN conference officially ends on Friday.
