On ecology: world leaders in Brazil solve climate problems

Several dozen heads of state have arrived in the Brazilian Amazon to participate in the COP30 UN climate summit. The focus is on deforestation and global warming. The gap between developed and developing countries is behind the problem of climate change, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in his welcoming speech. These days, he will insist on the need for "climate stability," as well as promote an investment fund to protect forests. Ruslan Edelgeriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, attended the meeting from Russia. Meanwhile, the summit is taking place against the background of the escalation around Venezuela and the tough fight of the Brazilian authorities against crime. About why Brazil is more interested in environmental stability than others and what it offers others — in the Izvestia article.

Why Brazil promotes the Green agenda

The Brazilian city of Belém, bordering the "lungs of the planet" — the forests of the Amazon — gathered 16 presidents, three representatives of royal families and ten prime ministers to participate in the 30th meeting of the UN climate summit. After the G20 and BRICS, COP30 is the third major international event held by the South American country in recent years, strengthening its role as the leader of the Global South on the world stage.

COP is an annual meeting of representatives of 197 countries that signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. In recent years, the meeting has transformed from a closed-door political discussion into an event that attracts tens of thousands of participants, including businessmen, NGO leaders, scientists and activists.

This year, the number of participants exceeded even the number of rooms in the hotel fund of the city with a population of just over 1 million people. Local entrepreneurs had to remove hints of an erotic context from motel rooms in order to accommodate newcomers.

Delegations from poor countries were offered free accommodation in cruise ship cabins. In particular, representatives of 96 African countries, small island States and least developed countries were accommodated there — their accommodation was sponsored by private donors and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Despite the positive intentions, the summit regularly faces criticism, in particular because the heads of several dozen states fly to the event on private planes, leaving a large carbon footprint.

In addition, the preparation of infrastructure is often also associated with environmental damage. So, in the run-up to COP30, Brazil built a major highway through the rainforest. In the process, the original trees were cut down, the new road makes it difficult for wild animals to move and complicates the rehabilitation of affected individuals. Local farmers also complain that they have lost part of their income due to deforestation of acai berry plantations.

Despite this, the Brazilian authorities claim that over the past two years they have managed to reduce the deforestation process by half. In addition, Brazil adds to its environmental achievements the promise to reduce emissions by 59-67% by 2035, and to reach zero by 2050. The authorities of the camp also claim that 88% of electricity comes from renewable sources. Brazil has also made progress in the creation of biofuels, in particular, they were fueled by cars used by foreign delegations during previous summits, hosted by the republic.

— The promotion of the climate agenda is most important for the countries of the Global South, because for them environmental problems lead to food shortages and worse living conditions for the already poorly-off population. For this reason, for Lula da Silva, it is a natural part of his social policy — the fewer environmental problems, the better off poor people are," says Viktor Kheifets, director of the Center for Ibero—American Studies at St. Petersburg State University.

$1.3 trillion to finance the fight against the effects of climate change

High-ranking guests began arriving at the venue from 8:30 a.m. local time. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Janja welcomed each of them personally.

Ruslan Edelgeriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, attended the event from Russia. Moscow received an invitation to the summit at a meeting of the BRICS leaders in July this year, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier. Russia aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 65-67% by 2025. According to Vladimir Putin's order, the goal should be achieved through forests and other natural ecological systems. Since 2019, the national Ecology project has been operating in Russia, which involves, among other things, the conservation and restoration of forests, the improvement of water bodies, the reduction of emissions into the atmosphere, the development of ecological tourism and the conservation of biological diversity.

"People may not understand what emissions or the carbon footprint are, but they feel the pollution. They may not understand what carbon sinks are, but they recognize the value of forests and oceans," Lula da Silva opened the summit with his speech.

The Brazilian leader criticized the gap between political debates and real life, insisting that it was time to move from words to action, especially since "the window of opportunity for action is rapidly narrowing."

"Climate change is the result of the same dynamics that for centuries divided our societies into rich and poor and divided the world into developed and developing countries," Lula da Silva emphasized.

One of the main messages of the Brazilian leader boils down to the concept of "climate justice". In other words, developed countries, historically responsible for the problem of global warming, are obliged to repay their debt to developing countries. In this regard, the COP30 meeting participants are expected to agree on a plan to allocate $1.3 trillion annually to finance the fight against climate change impacts for developing countries by 2035. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also speaks about this.

"Governments should arrive at the upcoming COP30 meeting in Brazil with concrete plans to reduce their own emissions over the next decade, as well as ensure climate justice for those at the forefront of a crisis that they have little to blame for," he said earlier.

This strategy is also supported by the BRICS countries, Viktor Kheifets added. Member states adhere to the position that developed countries have more money to solve problems and they have more responsibility for what is happening, the expert says.

The hostess of the summit also presented an initiative for the conservation of forests — the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. It is assumed that it will operate on the principle of an investment fund, rewarding those who preserve forests and invest in the work of the fund. Brazil itself has already invested $1 billion and is waiting for a similar step from other countries. Norway, France, Germany and the OEA are showing interest in the fund, while the UK is still skeptical about the idea.

The fund is expected to raise about $4 billion per year. The money will be distributed among countries that effectively preserve their rainforests, as well as the indigenous populations of these zones. More than 70 developing countries can apply for the right.

The negative background of the summit

Meanwhile, preparations for the summit coincided with the deadliest recent operation to neutralize members of criminal gangs in Brazil. Last week, at least 121 people, including several police officers, were killed in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The raid has caused concern among Brazilians about the effectiveness of the current government's security policy. Experts, however, point out that the responsibility here lies with the regional authorities rather than the federal ones.

The meeting is also taking place against the backdrop of the escalating situation around Venezuela, whose president the United States sees as the head of one of the drug cartels. Over the past few weeks, Washington has steadily increased the presence of its vessels in the waters of the Bolivarian Republic, and at least 40 people have already become victims of the American fight against drug cartels. The geopolitical tension is accompanied by statements that the United States may be preparing a ground operation, as well as making plans to oust Maduro himself.

By the way, the United States did not send its delegation to participate in the COP30 leaders' meeting, which was generally positively received by other participants, as they had previously expressed concerns that Washington might sabotage the adoption of specific decisions in the field of environmental policy.