Brazil’s mines and energy minister defends new oil ventures

After Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva presented his administration as a major environment champion during the UN Climate Conference (COP28), his mines and energy minister, Alexandre Silveira, made the political equivalent of a Freudian slip.

He said oil “is not yet in the past” and that Brazil will “not be ashamed” of its fossil fuel potential. 

“We will not be ashamed of our [state-owned oil giant] Petrobras,” Mr. Silveira said in an interview on Monday with the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo. “We will not be ashamed of also having the potential of fossil fuels in Brazil, and they need to be explored because Brazil is a country where social injustices are still very latent.”

While clashing with his boss’s words — Lula criticized developed nations for “the slow rhythm of decarbonization” and bashed their “eloquent but empty words” about saving the planet —, Mr. Silveira’s words offer an accurate snapshot of the Lula administration’s inconsistent environmental policies.

Brazil has suffered criticism from environmentalists for trying to portray a pro-sustainability discourse internationally — while domestically pledging to increase production of fossil fuels.

No oil-related issue has been more tense than the debate around whether or not Brazil should tap into reserves in the so-called “Equatorial Margin,” a region along the northern and northeastern coasts of Brazil. 

The area is considered one of the world’s biggest potential new oil frontiers and encompasses the northern and northeastern coasts. Back in May, environmental watchdogs denied a permit...