President Lula closed the Amazon Summit setting the tone for the position of Brazil and other countries regarding tropical forests in climate negotiations.
"We're going to COP28 with the goal of telling the rich world that if they want to effectively preserve what's in the forest, they need to invest money not just to take care of the forest canopy, but to take care of the people who live down there," he said during a speech in Belém.
COP28, the UN climate summit, takes place in November in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
The statement came after a meeting with authorities from the Amazon countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela), the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and Indonesia, which also have a large part of their territory covered by humid forests, and of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who presides over CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States).
"We will defend together that the climate financing commitments assumed by the rich countries are fulfilled", stated Lula.
"It's not Brazil that needs money, it's not Colombia that needs money, it's not Bolivia or Venezuela. It's nature, which industrial development, over 200 years, has polluted and now needs that [developed nations] pay their share to restore some of what was damaged."
Translated by Cassy Dias