By Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will offer to host a future global climate change summit when he attends the COP27 United Nations climate conference in Egypt next week, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Lula plans to announce an overhaul of Brazil’s environmental policies at the summit in Sharm El Sheikh and the creation of a new national climate authority to oversee efforts by all ministries and agencies to combat global warming.
The sources, that requested anonymity to be able to speak freely, said Lula will invite the United Nations to hold one of the next COPs in Brazil, possibly in 2025.
The incoming leftist president, who takes office on Jan. 1, has vowed to re-establish Brazil’s role as an important player in international efforts to address climate change after its reputation was damaged by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Destruction of the Brazilian rainforest hit a 15-year high under Bolsonaro, who rolled back environmental protections, and pushed for more mining and commercial farming in the region.
Bolsonaro stopped plans to host COP25 in Brazil in 2019 when, as president-elect, he asked that the meeting not be held in his country.
The United Nations is scheduled to organize COP28 in 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Where the 2024 summit will be held has not been decided yet, but Australia has proposed hosting it.
Lula said on Wednesday that he will only begin to decide on the members of his cabinet when he returns from Egypt.
Environmentalists cheered Lula’s election win on Oct. 30 after he campaigned on promises to protect the Amazon rainforest and restore Brazilian leadership on climate change.
Lula is expected to attend the second week of the COP27 summit and he will not be part of Brazil’s official government delegation at COP27 as he will still be president-elect. Bolsonaro is not expected to attend.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
