Lula says Brazil will be ‘Saudi Arabia of green energy’ – 11/29/2023 – Environment

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Wednesday (29) that Brazil will be “the Saudi Arabia of green energy”, and that the planet needs to be decarbonized.

The representative’s statement took place during a round table promoted by Apex (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency) with businesspeople, in Riyadh. He arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (28) for a tour of the Middle East, looking for partnerships and investments, which will end at COP28, the United Nations conference on climate change, in Dubai.

“I want to take advantage of this forum in November 2023 to say here in Saudi Arabia that, ten years from now, the world will say that, if Saudi Arabia is the most important country in oil and gas production, ten years from now the Brazil will be called the Saudi Arabia of green energy, of renewable energy, because that is what we are working towards”, said Lula.

“We have some commitments made. First, we are going to reduce deforestation by 2030, we want to reach zero deforestation in the Amazon. Second, we are going to do everything possible to make Brazil the center of the world in the production of alternative energy, because I think We all need to work responsibly to decarbonize the planet so that we can live in a more dignified way, with a better quality of life and without fear that we are destroying the house where we live”, he added.

Lula leaves this Wednesday for Doha, Qatar, where he will participate in a forum with businesspeople and a meeting with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. From there, she leaves for COP28, which starts on Thursday (30), in the United Arab Emirates.

Brazil arrives at the world event with high expectations of standing out as a conflict mediator and leadership on the subject — especially because it will host the conference, in Belém, in 2025.

To this end, Lula arrives in Dubai armed with positive figures on the reduction in deforestation in the Amazon.

From January to October 2023, the deforested area in the biome fell by half (49.6%) compared to last year: it went from 9,493.8 km² to 4,775.6 km², according to data from the Deter system, from Inpe (Instituto National Space Research Institute).

The Plan for Ecological Transformation, aimed at the decarbonization of the Brazilian economy, will also be presented at the Brazilian stand at COP28. Headed by the Ministry of Finance and with the participation of other ministries, an event for the international launch of the project is scheduled for Friday (1st).

The country must also propose the creation of a forest fund.

Another agenda will be the demand for fulfillment of promises already made by rich countries, such as that of allocating US$ 100 billion annually for climate actions in developing countries, delayed since 2020.