Lula aims to bolster Amazon nations’ engagement at COP30
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in Bogotá, Colombia, where he will participate this Friday (Aug. 22) in the 5th Summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). The meeting is expected to update the commitments of the countries sharing the planet’s largest tropical forest to protect the biome. It will also provide an opportunity to engage neighboring nations in preparations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Pará, the first to be held in the Amazon.
One of the Brazilian government’s initiatives is to approve a joint declaration supporting the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which will be launched at COP30.
The fund, estimated at $125 billion, will serve as a financing mechanism to preserve these forest biomes - found in about 70 countries - that are crucial for regulating rainfall patterns and capturing atmospheric carbon.
Lula arrived in the Colombian capital on Thursday evening (21). His first official engagement today, before the summit, will be a meeting between representatives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty member countries, civil society organizations, and indigenous communities.
This dialogue initiative with civil society organizations follows the methodology adopted two years ago at the previous ACTO summit in Belém.
Lula and Colombian President Gustavo Petro are the only heads of state confirmed for the summit, while the other countries are represented by their foreign ministers.
In addition to the declaration supporting the TFFF, the ACTO summit is expected to approve the Bogotá Charter, reinforcing the countries’ goals and commitments to actions such as combating deforestation and promoting sustainable development in the Amazon.
