Lula’s speech at COP27 is a breath of hope

Brazil President-elect joined global leaders at COP27 and addressed those who insist on believing in an environmentally just future.

By Daniele Savietto

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The newly elected president, Lula, arrived at the COP and has already moved everyone who believes that the spaces of power can still be occupied by those who seek fair solutions to the problems that humanity faces together.

The former and next president of Brazil stated “This invitation, made to a newly elected president even before his inauguration, is the recognition that the world is in a hurry to see Brazil participating again in discussions about the future of the planet and of all. the beings that inhabit it.”

And this urgency to have Brazil on the negotiation stage is not for nothing, after all, it was 4 years of environmental dismantling intentionally carried out by the current Brazilian management. In addition to actions that ignored those most in need of public policies.

The awareness that there is no more time to waste is present in Lula’s statements, “We spend trillions of dollars on wars that only bring destruction and death, while 900 million people around the world have nothing to eat. We are living in a time of multiple crises – growing geopolitical tensions, the return of the risk of nuclear war, a crisis in the supply of food and energy, erosion of biodiversity, an intolerable increase in inequalities.”

Understanding the strategic position that Brazil occupies since it is still among the 20 largest economies in the world and with the 7th largest population, Lula stated:

“I am here today to say that Brazil is ready to rejoin efforts to build a healthier planet. For a fairer world, capable of welcoming all its inhabitants with dignity – and not just a privileged minority.”

Affirming his intention to build an inclusive policy, beyond the numbers, but with a human concern, in his words: “To cooperate again with the poorest countries, especially in Africa, with investments and technology transfer.”

In addition, he was aware and attentive to the problems that await us, such as the eminent diseases that are a consequence of the environmental disaster:

“According to the Organization’s projections, between 2030 and 2050, global warming could cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths a year – from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and excessive heat stress.”

Bearing in mind that this is not a problem exclusive to minorities or developing countries: “no one is safe. The climate emergency affects everyone, although its effects fall most heavily on the most vulnerable.”

He also emphasizes the role that the Amazon plays in this process: “There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon. We will spare no effort to stop deforestation and the degradation of our biomes by 2030”.

And stating that this will not be an exclusive role for Brazil, “We are open to international cooperation to preserve our biomes, whether in the form of investment or scientific research.”

His speech was concluded with an expectation of hope necessary to walk arm in arm:

“If we can summarize Brazil’s contribution at this moment in a single word, may that word be the one that sustained the Brazilian people in the most difficult times: Hope.

Hope combined with immediate and decisive action for the future of the planet and humanity.”

We, as a civil society, rejoice in the return of a president committed to issues that are really relevant to humanity, who openly commits himself to the necessary changes, and who, even before assuming his term, is already in dialogue with the great global leaders.