Brazil's Climate Moment

Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Uh, let me make sure that uh not blowing my eardrums out here. — It's working. — Yeah, it's okay. Well, obado um let me uh say to all of you uh I think it is such a privilege for us uh to be able to hear from uh Andre Goa — Dulago. — That's a very good place. — I'm trying very hard. I've probably mispronounced so many uh names. Perfect. — Yeah. Like an H. — Obligato. Overado. So, thank you so much for being here. We have become friends during this process and I have long been an admirer — uh of Andrea because he has devoted uh most of a lifetime to diplomacy and to promoting peace and prosperity and the relations among nations. and I was uh thrilled when you were appointed the president of COP 30. — Thank you. — And uh may I just say at the outset, thank you Oberado for coming here uh to speak to these thousand people. Uh 999 of them basically are Brazilian, mostly Brazil. Brazilian uh and we are all excited about COP 30. May I say I will be in BIN. — Good. — And I am looking forward to being in BIN. Um tell us uh what you would like to what message would you like to impart to all of these people? These are men and women from Brazil who care about the climate, who are proud that Brazil is hosting COP 30, but who want very much for COP 30 to be an historic success. and they want to know what they can do individually to increase the chances that COP 30 will be a great success. What uh would you like to say to them? What can they do to realize their dreams? — Well, I have a lot to tell you. Uh but um essentially it's the word that we launched as the spirit of this cup which is much all Brazilians know what it means. H and um we chose that word because it means that everybody can do what they know how to do and that they do well towards a common objective. — But can you hear me? Yeah. Uh but the thing is that uh much is something also that has a beautiful aspect is that you don't need to be coordinated. People know where they're going. So I know that you all know where you want to go. The direction is very clear. We need to transform uh this new uh economy, this new world in which climate is considered and is uh um natural. Uh and to do that each one of us has a different solution and a different idea. And I think that is the wonderful thing is that if we have this objective at the end, we will know what we need to do for the COP. They all know, I am absolutely sure they all know what they need to do to the COP. And that's the spirit of the much. And I want you to do independently what you believe is important to have a climate inserted into the way of thinking that the world needs. Hm. So, one of the objectives in the process of all of these conferences of the parties — was stated uh at the in the final uh resolution that came from COP 28 two cups ago. Um, it's crazy that it took uh 30 years to mention the phrase fossil fuels, but at the end of COP 28, there was an agreement among the 195 nations that we must phase out, transition away from

fossil fuels. But last year in Baku, that was forgotten. And immediately after COP 28 uh in the United Arab Emirates uh Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco said that's a fantasy. We don't have any intention of transitioning away from fossil fuels. Can we hope that at COP 30 there will be um a bring a bringing back to life of this commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. — Yeah. Um, President Gore is really describing this really incredible moment that happened in Dubai and in fact all the country agreed. So we all agreed that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. This is a this is done. This is already an agreement. Now how we're going to do that? This is something that each country is supposed to have the liberty to decide how they are going to transition. I have to tell you that Saudi Arabia is doing part of this effort. I've been to Saudi Arabia and I was very impressed on how they are turning to renewable energies for uh their electricity. Saudi Arabia has incredible capacities and I think that they're going to contribute a lot to the transition away. — Really? — Yes. Sincerely. Yeah. But we can discuss that. Uh but the fact is that since it's already given, it is a given. We have put this issue uh we have two dimensions that we have to deal with this issue. One is try to bring it to the negotiation as you say because last year in the negotiation we didn't talk about it but the fact that it's done it is already agreed but we may work about maybe a timetable uh organ organize who is going to go first after I think there is a huge debate already internationally about that but we put transitioning away very clearly uh in our action agenda because our action agenda as for those who haven't gone to COP and I'm sure that many of you have gone to COP the the action agenda happens in the same space as the negotiation but as you all know in the negotiations only the countries can negotiate but in the action agenda everybody else is there the subnational governments business uh NOS's um uh scientists and in the action agenda we have put transitioning away as a key one of the issues that we have to debate because we chose the 30 most important things that were already decided under the Paris accord decided and that we just need to implement and bring solutions show solutions you were just talking to me about this amazing thing in the these satellites uh that are now — climate trace the climate trace it's amazing what you told me I think But this is a fantastic thing that will help all of us to know what we need to implement because the negotiation is only the countries but once it's done let's all work together to implement what the governments agreed. — Yes. Okay. Good. Well, that's good. That's good to hear. Um, I hope that the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels is strengthened. I know that the world is going to continue to burn fossil fuels for quite some time. Uh, but um I hope that this push will come even stronger in COP 30. So how do you um imagine that the subnational governments and civil society will be able to participate more actively in COP 30? You have stated that as one of your goals. How will you facilitate that? Yeah, I think that uh um President Lula um thought we discussed a lot the issue of the COP and there are three things that are very clear to him. One is that we need to strengthen multi multilateralism because we are seeing how individ an individual

country I'm not going to quote which one is taking some decisions that have a very strong impact but you like me believe very much in multilateralism. We have to strengthen multilateral The second thing is that President Luda himself thinks that this process became so complex, complicated and a bit mysterious that uh the rest of the world doesn't really um uh feel connected to the process, doesn't know how this process is really affecting their life, changing their life or even don't know very well what they can do to strengthen the process. And the third thing is that we have to go beyond the UNFCCC and the Paris accord for implementation. We need the World Bank. We need all the other uh development banks. institutions WTO everybody to work together to put climate as a central issue in every subject that we're dealing with because climate is everywhere. M — yeah so that second priority which is trying to explain again bring this process closer to people again and I believe that the action agenda is that effort that we're doing that everybody will understand well if it's already agreed that we're going to do this and this let's work on that thing and this also advances a lot once you know that there are solutions amazing solutions coming from the most surprising countries There are solutions, there are technologies, there are practices, there are amazing policies and that we can all learn together and advance if we allow only the countries to agree by consensus on everything. We're not going to go as fast as science tell us we have to go. We have few years to do the essential things. So if this can accelerate action, I think you will agree with me in billing, we will be very much together trying to accelerate that. — Yes, I do agree. Uh I want to ask you about concerns that some have expressed on the ability to be fully inclusive of all the delegations that want to come. You have heard this from many people. I know it's been in the media a little bit. I have not expressed any such concern because I know President Lula, I know you. Uh I know your team and I know that my own belief is that President Lula is going to do whatever he has to do to make sure that there are no problems uh for full inclusion of the process. But I want to give you an opportunity to say to anyone who has heard about these concerns, the price of the hotel rooms, etc. And uh again, I haven't expressed this concern, but I know that some here will want to hear what you have to say about it. — Yeah. No, I'm sure that everybody here is very conscious uh of the issues that are being raised about the prices of the hotels uh in Bang uh and uh and the difficulty to find rooms in Bing. Uh but uh I can assure you that this is being dealt with and there will be rooms and in a much more in much more reasonable uh um prices in Belling. So you all have to come to Bing. Absolutely. This is where we're going to build the world that we want to live in. And Bain is an amazing city. Obviously, it's not designed to have the biggest place. There are some people from Bang here. You see who's from Bang here? Who's from Par here? Look. Ah, you see there are people from Bar. You see, Bang is amazing city. But no city in the world is designed to receive a cop naturally. only Dubai because they just had organized the world expo. So they had the entire infrastructure for that. Paris had to build special things. Everybody So we're going to have an amazing cup in Ble. Come. Good. And so let the word go forth from here to anyone who uh can hear your voices that if there's any delegate from any country in the world tempted to say, "Oh, this is too much of a hassle. It's going to cause too much. " — Don't make that decision. Come to Bene because these problems are going to be solved. You have heard it from the president of COP 30 and I know that President Lula will be addressing uh this even more uh as well. My next question is about the moral and ethical dimensions of the climate crisis. I am so impressed that under the leadership of Marina Silva, Brazil has uh innovated

an entirely and uh Annabotina is here as well. Uh my daughter Karina Gore is here as well taking part in this. But Marina Silva has innovated uh with the support of President Lula the global ethical stock take. We will discuss it uh tomorrow here uh on stage. Uh but I want to hear your views of why this uh innovation is being advanced here. We've had 29 cops before this and no one prior to this has addressed the ethical issues. So tell us what why this is so important for Brazil. — Well, we are a lucky country because we have Marina. So I think that you will all agree and uh and when uh when we were discussing uh a year ago uh the how we could innovate in the structure on the preparation of the COP not only the how the COP was going to function. We agreed that there were some things that we could do differently. So first of all uh since many people are talking about 10 years of Paris are we going to have reinvent things we don't believe we need to reinvent things. I think that the convention in which you participated so uh actively uh in 1992 you were also essential in the negotiation of the Kyoto protocol and uh the Paris accord. They are the structures the right structures for negotiation. We don't have any doubt about it. But we decided to create three four circles. One is a circle of former presidents of cops since Paris. So we have all the presidents of cops working with us and telling us yes you are in the good direction. No we've already done that. No we've already been through that. So — that group is chaired by Lauron Fabio who was the very successful president of COP 15. — Absolutely. — In Paris. — Absolutely. So the presidents of the COP are watching us. They are looking at us and they are going to tell us if we're not going in the good direction. — Cup 21, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. And then um we have um a circle of ministers of finance head by our minister of finance u Fernand. Why? Because we all agree and Marina agrees and everybody agrees that once the decisions are taken at the cups, it has to go economywide. It cannot be in a little uh um uh group of people that already believe in that agenda. If we have the ministries of finance incorporating climates in the general way of dealing with countries, it will make a huge difference and Fernand understands that very well. And uh so he has built on what he had already built on uh in the G20 of the ministers of finance of the G20 where we discuss climate very seriously and he built a larger group. Now there are more than 35 ministers of finance that are committed to two things to implement what have already been decided by the the cops but also to contribute to u the road map to 1. 3 trillion that we are going to have to present the president of COP 29 and myself we're going to have to present that before the COP and uh and the ministers of finance are going to bring an extremely important contribution because they are the guys that are going to implement that. Then we have two other circles. We have a circle that minister um Guajara, the minister of indigenous peoples is leading which is a circle of peoples. Never before in a cup we have we are we had such a large consultations with indigenous people with um African descendant people with all the groups that have been excluded in the discussion of climate — and this group coordinated by minister Sonia Guajara is doing an amazing job also so that's the third circle and then the circle you mentioned the circle that Marina imagined and that President Lula and Secretary General Gutes are supporting very much with this ethical stock take and I'm so glad you're going to have a full discussion about that because Marina has thought of really

bringing people to think again about climate now that we have so much more information than in 1992 or even 10 years ago in Paris. So we need to have an approach that includes uh um a much more humanistic way of thinking about it. Obviously we had a great uh help by uh Pope Francis with Laato Sei that is now 10 year old and we have so many intellectuals so many religious leaders that have been amazing discussing this and that's the idea we have to bring all that together to have an ethical stock take about that and engaging the young people thinking if this world really has to be a better world and it cannot be based on information that have already been surpassed. — So well said. — So many of the uh COPs in the past the climate summits have ended with uh an ambitious sounding declaration. — Yeah. but with no mechanism for accountability — uh to ensure the implementation of the declarations that are made. — Uh how I know I've heard you speak about this issue before and I'm so happy that you are alert to it. Your career in diplomacy has uh made you alert to it. How do you plan to deal with that shortcoming in so many of the previous cops? — Yeah. You you're really talking about credibility uh and accountability. These are two things that I believe have helped people to disengage with cops. We have to have people engaging again with cops. people believing that these decisions are worth something and that we can monitor that. How we're going to do it, I cannot tell you yet because first of all because I don't know but we are building some very good ideas. So uh I believe that uh in a few weeks it's going to be a little clearer. I'll tell you before I promise. — Okay. So that's not an announcement for today. not for the — but it is something that you are very much focused on. — Yeah. But we have to discuss very much with President Lula, with Marina uh and with all these uh um people that really want this COP to be an absolutely important COP. — Yeah. So there are some delegations that in the past have come to the conferences with not with uh an agenda to help get an agreement — but with the purpose of preventing an agreement. Um, we saw this yesterday with the plastics negotiation. And leaving aside the confusion about Brazil's changed position, my own country sided with Saudi Arabia. You had some kind words about Saudi Arabia earlier, but I would just say um I'm not a diplomat anymore, so I can say this. uh maybe um they went to the plastics negotiation with the purpose of preventing an agreement. Maybe I shouldn't single out one nation, but what would you say to many of us who are really concerned that some of the pro states are determined to block action? You have you are a very skilled diplomat and I understand you can't say everything that you want to say but what can be done to prevent delegations that are in intent on stopping an agreement? — Yeah, that's a very complex question. So I'm going to try to survive to the question. Uh when you look at the negotiations like let's go back to climate change uh every country has problems in this negotiation because uh we know that to solve the climate um issue we need to change many aspects of the economy and for some countries this can be a complete change in its development pro pro in its development process uh and in very strong economic interests in those countries and you know that because obviously your country now is very

clearly positioned regarding that but in fact no country is a good guy and bad guy at least not completely good or not completely bad. So we have to try to bring together what uh is constructive for everybody and try to um uh create allies uh and allies in an agenda that we have seen can evolve in a surprising way. Let's take the example of China. — China some years ago noticed that it was going to grow enormously. It had an amazing plan of growth, but it realized that its growth was dependent and normally dependent on fossil. And they invested massively on renewables. uh electric cars. Uh and now they can uh boast to have an economy that is still dependent on fossil fuels in a large way. But at the same time, it can show that more jobs and more growth is dependent on this path that they chose a few years ago. And China proved that an economy that grows and fights climate change at the same time works. — And I think this is an amazing message. And they are conscious that they still are dependent on fossil because it's a huge country with a huge uh population. But it's going I think very clearly and very convinced in the right direction and they say it very clearly but in this direction some sectors are going to suffer. The same thing is happening in other developed countries uh and in some developing countries. But Brazil in the case of all those who are here, we have already done the most difficult not necessarily because of climate but because of our circumstances uh which is electricity. Electricity in Brazil is now 90% renewable. — Yes, I know. Yeah. — Yeah. So this is something that very few large economies can boast. — Yeah. Brazil is what the rest of the G20 wants to be when they grow up. — That's it. And uh at the same time we have a completely different issue which is the issue that we have uh in the Amazon. We are the only large economy in the world uh which mo which has as its most important emissions based on deforestation which is something that is completely incompatible with the level of development of Brazil. So we have some amazingly positive things and we have some circumstances I'm not going to say negative that you have to deal with and I think that every country has this kind of doubt. So there is no good or bad country in the negotiations. The thing is to find solutions for everybody to join in the fight against climate change. And I think that if you take the solutions that China has found, Brazil has found, Kenya has found, uh, US, some very important sectors of the American economy have, Europe. You are going to see that and you know that obviously but I'm going to tell them you are going to see that there are amazing solutions around and that we can be based on that. — Well, I'm excited to hear that. uh what uh this may not be a fair question, but what are your greatest concerns? Now, leaving aside the issues of the hotels, and that's going to be dealt with, I'm certain, but other than that, what are the concerns that you have? — Well, you know, um I think that we're living a very strange moment in which misinformation about climate change — Yeah. — is really uh complex. And I think that we have an interesting evolution, negative but interesting evolution regarding that is that in the past there were lots of intents to uh to show that there was a division about among scientists. Uh in fact today it's so obvious that it's overwhelming that the scientists agree that human activities are impacting climate change. 99. 99%. — That's it. But they found five that don't agree. — Oh yeah. And Trump's appointed all of them to some position of influence. Yeah. — So uh the the thing is that what I believe that is the new challenge is that uh there are some efforts that want

to portray the that the economy if it incorporates uh concerns about climate it's bad for the economy. It's bad for jobs. life of people, which we know is not true. But this is the new narrative. — No, if you're going to fight climate change, this is going to be bad for you. It's not going to grow. And we have to um trumpet much more the positive examples that show that it's good for the economy, it's good for jobs, quality of life. And I think this is a big effort we have to do in the next two months before the COP. — Is it possible to imagine that COP 30 might include in the final direction some statement uh condemning uh intentional spread of misinformation about climate? — I think that uh condemn misinformation is always a good thing. — So that's a yes. — And did you hear yes? Well, what I hear what I hear is an amazingly skillful, committed, ethical uh diplomat with great experience. — Very kind — Andre Kohaa Dulago. — Fantastic. — Uh I am so impressed with the job that you have been doing. I've read all five of the letters that you have sent out to the world uh community as president of COP 30. I wait the sixth one is on the way. I understand. Uh and to all of uh those of you from Brazil, I would say that Brazil has put forward its very best as the president of COP 30. And because we have run out of time for this session, I want to close by asking all of you to join me in thanking our great president of COP 30. — What an honor. — Thank you so much. — Thank you. God.