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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared at a climate summit in Belem on Friday that the prevailing intensive use of fossil fuels is no longer a viable model for global development.
Addressing assembled heads of state and government ahead of annual UN climate talks, Lula stressed that immediate decisions regarding the energy sector would determine humanity’s “success or failure” against climate change.
He advocated for a shift in financial priorities, suggesting that a portion of oil exploration profits be redirected toward the transition to green energy.
Lula criticised the slow pace of change, noting that the global energy mix’s reliance on fossil fuels had only marginally decreased from 83 per cent to 80 per cent over the past decade.
He also condemned external “pressure and threats” that led the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to postpone a plan to curb shipping emissions.
Additionally, he lamented that the war in Ukraine had reversed years of progress by causing the reopening of coal mines.
The leftist leader delivered a stark warning, stating that spending twice as much on weaponry as on climate action is “paving the way for climate apocalypse.”
The summit itself was marked by the absence of leaders from major fossil fuel-producing nations, including the United States, which had previously announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
Brazil, the conference host, concurrently faced criticism over its own authorisation for the state oil company to begin offshore exploration in the Amazon region.
