Lula tells COP31 that war and tariffs are crowding climate off the agenda

Speech at the Antalya leaders' session

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the COP31 leaders' session in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday, 11 November, during his first international trip since his re-election in late October. The conference opened on Monday, 9 November, and gathers representatives of almost 200 countries until 20 November. Swissinfo reported that only one G7 leader was among the attendees and that the administration of Donald Trump, which left the Paris Agreement, was absent. China, the largest greenhouse gas emitter, sent its vice president, Han Zheng. Notícias ao Minuto reported that Lula's speech drew strong applause in the plenary, and he opened by saying that Brazil is back to defend a healthy planet.

“Brazil is back to defend the continuity of a healthy planet.”

Climate pushed off the G7 and G20 agenda

Lula argued that climate change has faded from the agenda of world leaders. He told the audience that the topic had disappeared from leaders' speeches and documents, and that at G7 and G20 meetings, where the largest emitters gather, concern had turned into silence. Swissinfo linked this shift to geopolitical fragmentation, high debt levels and the energy crisis stemming from the war in Iran. He put the point in direct terms.

“Since the beginning of the year, climate change has disappeared from the speeches and documents”

Lula asked developed countries to honour their commitments and mobilise 1,300 billion dollars a year in climate finance, arguing that rich countries grew at the planet's expense. He defended the multilateral system, saying that sabotaging the climate regime would destroy the best of it. His priorities were more funding, a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels and an end to deforestation.

Deforestation and oil drilling

Lula said Brazil cut deforestation in the Amazon by 71% between 2022 and 2026. He also announced national plans to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and halt forest loss. Swissinfo reported that deforestation fell in the last year to its lowest level in a decade. The government has nonetheless faced criticism for continued oil extraction. In August, Lula defended exploring new reserves as an exercise of national sovereignty, pointing to crude found 175 km off the Amazon coast in the Equatorial Margin. Swissinfo also noted that his government presided over the previous COP30 in Belém.

Re-election and environmental concerns

Lula was re-elected in late October for a fourth term, against right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro, and presented the vote as a choice about a national project. Swissinfo reported that many environmentalists were relieved, having feared a return to mass logging in the Amazon had Flávio Bolsonaro won. Speaking with a hoarse voice, the 81-year-old leader made his case for climate to return to the top of the international agenda. The Antalya speech thus combined a defence of his climate record with a warning about the global debate.

Timetable and what comes next

The leaders' summit in Antalya runs on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 November, according to Swissinfo. Lula spoke on the first of those days, and COP31 had already begun on Monday, 9 November. The conference is set to run in Antalya until 20 November. The key dates in the sequence are shown below.