“Brazil Is Back!”: Lula Vows to Protect the Amazon Rainforest at COP 27

COP is the Conference of Parties, the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Comprised of 198 member nations, it is the “parent treaty” of the Paris Agreement, with the stated goal of keeping global average temperature rise as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

In mid-November 2022, COP27 (the fact that this is their 27th meeting should itself be telling of how little has been accomplished so far) was held in Egypt. It was full of controversy, strife and more than a little disappointment. But on the bright side, there has been some positive news. On November 16 the President-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (often simply referred to as “Lula”) announced “Brazil is Back”. He promised to undo the environmental destruction of the Amazon rainforest done by his predecessor Jair Bolsinaro, who allowed and abetted the merciless exploitation of the Amazon, destroying huge amounts of rainforest.

As quoted in the Guardian, Lula stated:

“There is no planetary security without a protected Amazon. We will do whatever it takes to have zero deforestation and degradations of our biomes. For this reason, I would like to announce that efforts to fight climate change will have the highest priority in my next government. We will prioritise the fight against deforestation of all of our biomes and reverse damage done in recent years by the previous government.”

 And the Los Angeles Times quoted Lula as saying:

“There will be no climate security if the Amazon isn’t protected.” And that all crimes in the forest, from illegal logging to mining, would be cracked down on “without respite.” He vowed to work with surrounding nations and has a new “partnership” with Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with Brazil the three nations with the largest rainforests in the world.

He also said he would protect indigenous peoples and work to get developing nations money they are owed to protect the environment.

The Los Angeles Times reports: “Simone Karipuna, an activist from the Amazon, traveled with several other Indigenous women to Egypt to participate in the summit. Between chants with several other women ahead of one of Da Silva’s appearances, Karipuna said she believed challenges could be overcome because Indigenous communities living in the forest could work with the incoming administration.”

Climate Home News also quoted an indigenous activist:

“We have certainty that [Lula] will protect the indigenous territories, and that he will have a ministry for indigenous people. That is a relief for us”

said Thiago Yawanawá, an indigenous activist from the Amazonian state of Acre, while waiting for Lula’s speech.

It has been pointed out that Lula Da Silva has a tough road ahead to undo the damage done by his predecessor (who governed the country from 2019 to 2022), but he does have a good track record from his previous tenure as president (2003-2010) in protecting the environment.

Photo credit: Mohamed Abd El Ghany for Reuters