Lula at COP27: “Brazil is back”

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday addressed the COP27 UN Climate Conference. From Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, he told the world that “Brazil is back” to its commitments to climate change. “The fight against climate change will have the highest profile in my government’s structure,” he promised.

“We returned to help to build a peaceful world order based on dialogue, multilateralism, and multipolarity,” Lula said. “Possibly, we alone will not have the strength nor the money to attend to the Amazon with the care that it needs.” 

Just as other South American leaders did during the UN General Assembly in September, Lula called upon developed nations to put their money where their mouth is with regard to climate policies, demanding support from rich countries to help pursue decarbonization goals.

Lula reminded the audience that at the 2009 COP15 in Denmark, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion every year, starting in 2020, for climate action in developing countries. That has not yet happened. “I’m also returning to call on what was promised at COP15,” he told a cheering audience.

Earlier on Wednesday, Lula had already hinted at asking rich nations to pitch into the climate struggle. ​​“If the Amazon is as important as you all say it is, and scientists say...