Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva once again demanded that wealthy nations fulfill their decade-long promise to finance environmental protection efforts of their developing counterparts in his speech today at the UN General Assembly.
Lula used the global platform to bolster Brazil's position as the new leader of the group of developing countries, dubbed the global south, calling on rich countries to focus resources on reducing inequality and escalating support for climate-change mitigation.
"The vulnerable populations in the global south are the most affected by the losses and damage caused by climate change," Lula said, adding that rich countries' growth was based on high rates of climate-damaging emissions.
Lula underscored that the richest 10pc of nations are responsible for around half of global emissions. Developed nations' unfilled promise to provide $100bn to developing nations is no longer sufficient, he said, adding that these efforts will require trillions of dollars.
It will be impossible to reach the Paris Agreement goals "without the mobilization of financial and technological resources," he said.
During last year's presidential election, Lula promised to strengthen environmental protection efforts, after deforestation in the Amazon basin skyrocketed during the previous administration.
Lula celebrated the 48pc decline in deforestation of the Amazon during the first eight months of his third non-consecutive term.
He also touted Brazil's vast renewable power resources, arguing that the country is in the vanguard of the energy transition with 87pc of its power grid coming from renewable sources. He also highlighted Brazil's "enormous" green hydrogen production potential.
Clean energy hub
Other members of Lula's cabinet have also been making the rounds this week in New York, as the country seeks to drum up investments.
Economy minister Fernando Haddad has been meeting with investors, pushing the country's ecological transition plan.
"We don't see ourselves only as forest custodians," he said. "We are ready to help decarbonize."
The minister highlighted Brazil's potential to become a clean energy leader given its vast renewable resources to produce clean electricity, as the country's renewable share of generation mix is at above 90pc. The minister also pointed out the country's role in the biofuels sector given its enormous potential of ethanol production to decarbonize the road transport and aviation industries.
"We see ourselves as producers of clean energy as well as of products that could be consumed with a green certification," Haddad added.
To attract investment in clean energies, the minister said the country is on track to approve a new tax reform "in two weeks".
The government has also promised to approve a draft law to create a new carbon market and legislation for renewable hydrogen, offshore wind and advanced biofuels.
Haddad also met with the US climate envoy John Kerry on 18 September and is working to improve trade ties with the US to increase exports of low-carbon goods.
