Lula urges rich countries to show real commitment to the environment
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he no longer believes the rich countries’ promise to financially compensate countries that conserve their forests, as a way of mitigating the negative effects of climate change.
At a press conference Thursday morning (Jan. 30), President Lula demanded seriousness from the countries that have made this commitment and recalled the important role that the local people of the Amazon will play in keeping the forest standing.
The president stressed, however, that for this to happen, rights and resources must be guaranteed for these communities.
“We have to fight really hard for the climate issue. If we don’t do something strong, these COPs [climate change conferences] will be demoralized. Measures are approved; it’s all nice and dandy on paper, but then no country complies,” he stated.
He noted that US President Donald Trump announced his country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and that the US had already failed to comply with the Kyoto Agreement.
“In other words, countries pledged to give $100 billion a year to developing countries, and to this day they haven’t done so. Now $1.3 trillion is needed. I’m sure they won’t give it. The environmentalists then lowered it to $300 billion. And they won’t give that either. We need to have a serious discussion,” the Brazilian leader said.
In his view, the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), which will take place in Brazil in November this year, will serve as a guide for what should be done from now on. There, the president argued, countries will have to determine whether they really want to make the energy transition and change the planet for the survival of humanity.
