It will be increasingly difficult for rich countries to commit to helping to save the planet, the Brazilian president warned.

On Wednesday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva said that U.S. President Donald Trump is making it harder to negotiate the commitments needed from rich countries to tackle climate change and contribute to the “salvation” of the planet.

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“Because of the behavior of the U.S. president, I think it will be increasingly difficult for rich countries to commit to helping to save the planet,” Lula said in an interview with Radio Diario FM in Macapa, capital of the northern Amazonian state of Amapa.

Brazil, home to the Amazon rainforest and considered the planet’s largest green lung, will host the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) from Nov. 10 to 21 in Belem, capital of the northern Amazonian state of Para.

COP30’s agenda includes increasing financial support from wealthy nations to help developing countries protect their forests, jungles and ecosystems in the fight against global warming.

“At the COP in 2009, rich countries committed to giving US$100 billion to keep the forests standing, and they failed to do so… Currently, the need is US$1.3 trillion,” Lula pointed out.

Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and, on Monday, declared a ban on paper straws in government buildings and a return to plastic ones.

Despite these latest developments, Lula said he hopes wealthier countries can be convinced to finance the preservation of the Earth’s ecosystems.

“When we decided to hold COP30 in Belem, it was because I wanted the Amazon to speak to the world … and meet the people who live in the Amazon region. We want to seriously discuss financing. Are they going to provide financing or not?” the Brazilian president said.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

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