Brazil’s Lula cancels COP29 visit, sending negative signal: expert
Just two weeks before the start of COP29 in Azerbaijan, the Brazilian President Lula da Silva officially cancelled his travel plans to attend the event.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva was supposed to be in Baku from November 10th through 12th for the COP29 Leaders Summit, before heading back home to preside over the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro from November 18th to 19th.
But on October 19th, twelve days before turning 79, the president had a household accident that resulted in five stitches at the back of his head.
COP29 was the third in a series of international event cancellations by the president, after the BRICS summit in Russia and COP16 in Colombia.
Initially, Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Relations Alexandre Padilha told journalists that the decision came following medical advice. Later, however, the Presidency Advisory Office stated that Lula’s absence in Baku was unrelated to his health, but rather due to the decision to prioritise the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting and the G20 summit.
“I can understand it if the reason behind the cancellation is Lula’s health. Otherwise, he’s sending a very negative message by prioritising agendas other than COP29, while trying to be a global climate leader,” Stela Herschmann, climate policy specialist at the Brazilian Climate Observatory, told Gas Outlook.
With his absence, vice-president and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, will represent Brazil at the global climate talks. He’ll be accompanied by a reduced delegation of civil society representatives. Besides pressuring for a higher New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), the country is expected to launch the Tropical Forest Finance Facility (TFFF), according to Herschmann.
Brazil in the spotlight
“As the host of the next COP and member of the troika, Brazil arrives in Baku surrounded by high expectations. All eyes will be on the country as it presents its NDCs and this year’s deforestation numbers,” said Herschmann.
The climate policy specialist believes that, while Lula da Silva’s presence could have a symbolic political impact, his absence shouldn’t interfere in how Brazil’s technical team navigates the negotiations. That being said, Herschmann adds that the country is an important player, often seen as a broker between developed and developing countries, especially under Silva’s presidency, making his absence a strong negative signal.
Her main concern, however, is that the ongoing conflicts in the region will lead to an absence of key actors, particularly from civil society, weakening COP29 negotiations and their outcomes.
A request by Gas Outlook for an official comment from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change remains unanswered.
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