Lula calls for the world's collaboration to reward countries that maintain their forests.
United Nations, Sep 23 (EFE) - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on Tuesday for the world's cooperation in rewarding countries that keep their forests standing, during his address to the UN General Assembly.
Lula affirmed that ending deforestation in the Amazon rainforest depends on creating decent economic conditions for the region's population, home to 50 million people spread across nine countries.
"Brazil has already halved deforestation in the region in the last two years. Eradicating it requires guaranteeing decent living conditions for its millions of inhabitants," Lula said in his speech at the UN, in which he argued that the race for critical minerals essential for energy transmission "cannot reproduce the predatory logic that has characterized recent centuries."
The president specifically referred to the Rainforest Forever Fund (TFFF), a new economic mechanism created by Brazil that will be officially launched at the next UN climate summit, COP30, and which aims to raise funds to cover rainforest conservation.
This Tuesday, Lula is scheduled to chair a meeting parallel to the General Assembly, where he will present the TFFF as a prelude to COP30, which will be held in November in the Brazilian city of Belém, in the Amazon.
In addition to the tropical forest fund, Brazil will propose at COP30 a basket of economic instruments that will include payments for environmental services linked to mangroves and so-called "blue carbon," associated with marine ecosystems.
Regarding the climate change negotiations, Lula stated that "the time has come to move from the negotiation phase to the implementation phase," while asserting that bombs and nuclear weapons "will not protect us from the climate crisis."
Therefore, he advocated the creation of a council linked to the UN General Assembly that would have the "strength and legitimacy" to monitor compliance with emissions reduction targets.
At that point, he placed the primary responsibility on wealthy countries, which "enjoy a standard of living earned at the expense of 200 years of emissions": "Demanding greater ambition and greater access to courses and technologies is not a matter of charity, it's simply a matter of justice."
The COP "of truth"According to Lula, COP30 in Belém will be "the COP of truth" and the moment "when world leaders demonstrate the seriousness of their commitment to the planet."
He also stressed the need for nationally determined contributions, known as NDCs, since without them the world will walk "blindfolded into a veritable abyss."
In this case, the Brazilian president recalled that his country has committed to reducing its emissions by between 59% and 67%, including all greenhouse gases in all sectors of the economy.
COP30 aims to serve as a forum for discussion on increasing aid to developing countries that commit to preserving their forests, as a contribution to combating global climate change.
This funding, provided by the wealthiest countries, was set at $300 billion annually at COP29, held last year in Baku, but much of the international community aspires to raise that figure. EFE
efeverde
