Announced last month, the president of COP30 was well-received both nationally and internationally. The internal and external challenges ahead, however, appear to be no greater than the high expectations placed upon him.
With less than a year to go until COP30, whether Belem’s city improvement work will finish in time remains in question, as well as Brazil’s capacity to lead negotiations.
With climate finance negotiations stuck at COP29 in Baku, all eyes turned to Rio de Janeiro as the G20 summit started on Monday.
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.
Despite its crucial role in the country’s energy transition, a Brazilian bill regulating offshore wind energy is stalled by amendments related to fossil fuel thermoelectric plants, delaying investments and neglecting socio-environmental impacts.
At the same time as Brazilian President Lula da Silva and part of his administration joined Climate Week NYC, Rio de Janeiro hosted its largest oil and gas event.
In spite of the role played by human-driven climate change in the severe flooding in Brazil in early May, the country continues to expand fossil fuels and advance anti-climate laws.
Much like the draft COP28 text that omitted to mention a fossil fuel phase-out, Brazil’s vow to be the “1.5 paladin” is an empty promise.