Lula calls for more robust funding to combat climate change
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the lack of commitment by wealthy countries to tackling climate change last Friday (Aug. 22), and demanded that decisions agreed upon within the United Nations (UN) - including financial ones - be taken seriously. He participated in a meeting of leaders of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) in Bogotá, Colombia.
Lula is seeking the engagement of Amazonian countries ahead of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), as well as support for the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which will be launched during the event in November in Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará. The fund will serve as a financing mechanism aimed at preserving tropical forest biomes - found in approximately 70 countries - which are crucial for regulating rainfall patterns and capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
“At every COP we attend, many decisions are made but not implemented. Few countries make a strong effort to comply with them. Others don’t give them the slightest importance, and some even refuse to sign agreements after the COP ends,” Lula said in a critical tone.
“We need a new model of global governance. If the UN is the place we created to address humanity’s most important issues, then climate change must be one of them. We will work to create a climate council capable of mobilizing countries to fulfill their commitments,” he added.
Funding
The president once again called on wealthier countries to provide more robust funding to combat climate change - beyond the $300 million per year promised at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. “Those who believe the forest must be kept standing at all costs should help pay for it, so we can preserve it,” Lula stated.
“The future of the biome does not depend solely on the Amazon countries. Even if no more trees are cut down, the forest will remain at risk if the rest of the world fails to make progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” added the Brazilian president.
Sovereignty
In a meeting with presidents and representatives of indigenous and civil society organizations, Lula emphasized that any proposed solutions for the Amazon must take into account the people who live there - such as indigenous communities, fishermen, extractivists, and small-scale rural workers. He reiterated that the event would be an opportunity for decision-makers to experience the forest up close.
“We want people to see the real situation of the forests, our rivers, and the communities who live there, so that we understand we have an almost Herculean task ahead in addressing this climate issue,” he noted.
In his speech, the Brazilian president also referenced the United States government’s deployment of warships to the coast of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean, under the pretext of confronting threats from Latin American drug cartels. For Lula, this is merely a pretext to intervene in the countries of the region.
“For a long time, rich countries have accused us of failing to care for the forest. Those who polluted the planet try to impose models that don’t serve us, using the fight against deforestation as a justification for protectionism, and the fight against organized crime as a pretext to violate our sovereignty. But the time has come to show the world the reality of the Amazon. It’s not just made of trees; it’s also made up of the people who live and breathe it every day,” he said.
Organized Crime
Lula also said he will invite the presidents of the Amazon countries to participate in the inauguration of the Amazon International Police Cooperation Center in Manaus, Amazonas state, on September 9. He emphasized that environmental preservation also involves combating organized crime, including illegal mining.
“[The center] is very important to combat illegal mining, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and anything else that threatens us,” he said.
“The people of the Amazon deserve to live free from violence - violence that destroys the forest and poisons the waters, that destroys the livelihoods of fishermen and extractivists, that drives indigenous people from their lands and riverside communities from their homes, and that takes the lives of those who fight for the Amazon, like Chico Mendes, Dorothy Stang, Bruno Pereira, Dom Phillips, and so many others,” the president added.
