COP27 will mark Lula’s return to the world stage

One day after winning Sunday’s tight runoff election, Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took congratulatory phone calls from Joe Biden of the U.S., Emmanuel Macron of France, Olaf Scholz of Germany, and ten other heads of state around the world. He even met in person with Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, who flew over from Buenos Aires.

On Twitter, Brazilians joked that Lula had spoken with more presidents and prime ministers in a single day than outgoing far-right President Jair Bolsonaro had throughout almost four years in office.

And this global networking is set to continue, as the president-elect received — and accepted — an invitation to attend the United Nations’ COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, which starts this Sunday. If their schedules line up, it could also mean a first meeting between Lula and Mr. Biden.

In fact, Lula received two invitations to COP27: one from organizers in Egypt, and another from a consortium of governors of Brazil’s Amazonian states, who for the first time will have their own unified representation at the event.

“It was impossible to present the Amazon of its nine state governments — displaying visions of sustainable development, a low-emission economy, and commitments to slow down deforestation — within the delegation of the federal government,” said Waldez Góes, governor of Amapá and head of the consortium.

The Jair Bolsonaro government will be represented at the event, but the departing head of state will almost certainly not attend. He was among the few major leaders not to show up to COP26, held in Glasgow last year.

An image to be saved

That Lula’s first international trip as president-elect would be to a climate change conference is particularly fitting. Brazil’s international image relies heavily on its environmental record, which has been left in tatters after four years of Mr. Bolsonaro. 

The current government has allowed deforestation to soar to its highest yearly levels...