G20 Summit: Brazil Proposes Advancing Carbon Neutrality Goals to 2040
Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Nov. 19, 2024. X/ @LulaOficial
November 19, 2024 Hour: 10:54 am
Lula da Silva also proposed establishing a UN Climate Change Council to enhance global environmental governance.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva called on the wealthiest G20 countries to bring forward their carbon neutrality targets from 2050 to 2040 or 2045.
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He also invited the international community to establish a United Nations Climate Change Council to enhance global environmental governance by coordinating the currently fragmented actors, processes, and mechanisms.
“Without taking responsibility for their historical contributions, wealthy nations will lack credibility to demand ambition from others,” Lula said during the opening speech of the third and final plenary session of the G20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro.
The progressive leader also directed a message to developing countries, urging them to implement greenhouse gas reduction programs across all productive sectors. Lula highlighted his own country as an example, noting that during the climate summit in Baku (COP29), Brazil committed to reducing its emissions by 67 percent by 2035, up from the previous target of 59 percent.
“Most of the reduction will come from a decline in deforestation, which has fallen by 45 percent over the past two years,” the Brazilian president stated, speaking in front of U.S. President Joe Biden, who was present in the debate room at the Museum of Modern Art.
“We will not compromise on environmental crimes. Deforestation will be eradicated by 2030,” Lula declared, emphasizing the severe impact deforestation has on the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical forest, which covers nearly 60 percent of his country’s territory.
The Brazilian president also advocated for stronger climate governance, arguing that “it makes no sense to negotiate new commitments” without an “effective” mechanism to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, “whose outcomes are far from what is necessary.”
“Hope is renewed with every commitment and act of courage in defense of life and the preservation of the conditions in which it was given to us,” Lula concluded.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
