Lula says the Paris Agreement is far from its goal and appeals to leaders.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed concern about the planet's climate situation and appealed to world leaders to reaffirm their commitment to the Paris Agreement , which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In the final thematic session of the Climate Summit in Belém, on the afternoon of Friday the 7th, the president criticized the actions of countries to mitigate climate change.

“The world is still far from achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement. The agreement is based on the understanding that each country will do its best to avoid warming of 1.5°C. The question we must ask ourselves today is: are we really doing our best? The answer is: not yet,” he states.

Lula observed that Latin America, Asia, and Africa are the regions most at risk of becoming uninhabitable in the coming decades, including the potential disappearance of islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific due to rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers.

"To remain silent is to condemn once again those who are already the condemned of the Earth," he declared.

The president insisted on the need to revitalize the goals of the Paris Agreement through Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs.

“One hundred countries, representing almost 73% of global emissions , submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions. Most of the new NDCs have progressed by covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases. But the planet is still heading towards warming of around 2.5°C. As far as Brazil is concerned, Belém will be the place where we renew our commitment to the Paris Agreement,” he pointed out.

The president pointed out the need not only to implement what has already been agreed upon, but also to "adopt additional measures capable of bridging the gap between rhetoric and reality."

Traditional communities and financing

President Lula also pointed out that Brazil will propose that the COP in the Amazon recognize the role of indigenous territories and traditional communities, as well as protection policies, as an instrument for climate mitigation.

Regarding financing, Lula cited the Baku-Belém Roadmap, which proposes alternatives to reach the goal of US$1.3 trillion per year for mitigating and adapting to the catastrophic consequences of planetary temperature change.

“Today, only a small portion of climate finance reaches the developing world. Most resources are still offered in the form of loans. It makes no ethical or practical sense to demand that developing countries pay interest to combat global warming and cope with its effects. This represents reverse financing, flowing from the Global South to the Global North,” he argued.

The president defended debt swap instruments for climate action and pointed out that tackling climate change should be seen as an investment, not an expense.

Taxation of large fortunes

Recalling that most of the world's wealth generated in the last four decades has been appropriated by individuals and corporations, while national budgets have shrunk, Lula advocated for the taxation of large fortunes.

“According to Oxfam, the individual belonging to the richest 0.1% of the planet emits more carbon in a single day than the poorest 50% of the world's population does in an entire year. It is legitimate to demand a greater contribution from these people. A minimum tax on multinational corporations and taxation of the wealth of the super-rich can generate valuable resources for climate action,” he pointed out.

Carbon markets could also become sources of public revenue, Lula pointed out, but this still depends on greater scale if countries adopt common parameters.

Lula also reiterated his support for the creation of a Climate Council within the United Nations (UN) and concluded by emphatically defending multilateralism as a solution to global warming.

“I appeal to all of you. There is no solution for the planet outside of multilateralism. The Earth is one, humanity is one, the answer must come from everyone for everyone. Instead of abandoning hope, we can build together a new era of prosperity and equality.”

The Climate Summit, which ends this Friday, brings together leaders from different countries in a program that precedes the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), which will be held from November 10 to 21, also in the capital of Pará state. The objective is to update and reinforce multilateral commitments to address the urgency of the climate crisis.

Heads of state, government leaders, and high-level representatives from over 70 countries passed through Belém to participate in the event. Including ambassadors and diplomatic personnel, the list exceeds one hundred foreign governments represented in the capital of Pará.