Brazil chose veteran diplomat Andre Aranha Correa do Lago to preside over the UN Cop 30 climate summit, it said.
Correa do Lago's appointment breaks the mold of the latest Cop presidents. The last two Cop presidents — Mukhtar Babayev and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who presided over Cop 29 and 28, respectively — were experienced oil executives, while Correa do Lago has mostly been a diplomat and an advocate of sustainable development.
Correa do Lago has served as the Brazilian foreign affairs ministry's climate, energy and environment secretary since March 2023 and began his career as a diplomat in 1982. He previously served in the embassies in Madrid, Prague, Washington and Buenos Aires and in a mission to the EU in Brussels. Later, Correa do Lago was ambassador to Japan (2013-2018), India (2018-2023) and Bhutan (2019-2023).
He has been working on sustainable development topics since 2001, according to the Brazilian government. He was director of the energy division of the foreign affairs' ministry from 2008-2011 and headed the ministry's environmental division from 2011-2013. He also served as Brazil's chief negotiator for climate change from 2011-2013 and presided over the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, also known as Rio+20.
Brazil also tapped economist Ana Toni, the energy ministry's secretary for climate change since March 2023, as Cop 30's executive director. She holds a PhD in political science and focused her career on promoting projects and public policies regarding social justice, the environment and climate change. Toni was executive director of the climate and society institute from 2015-2022, president of Greenpeace's board from 2010-2017 and the director of the Ford Foundation in Brazil from 2003-2011.
Brazil will host Cop 30 in Belem, the capital of northern Para state, in November. The city was chosen because of its proximity to the Amazon rainforest.