Disappointment in Belém. The eight nations surrounding the Amazon failed to agree on a common date to end deforestation, but the meeting’s host, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, did succeed in striking agreements on a series of unified environmental policies and measures to boost regional cooperation at the most important rainforest summit held in 14 years.
Lula, who has staked his international reputation on improving Brazil’s environmental standing, had pushed for the region to come together in a commitment to end deforestation by 2030. However, the statement issued on Tuesday lowers that goal and creates an alliance to combat forest destruction that lets each Amazonian country choose its individual deforestation targets.
“The planet is melting, we break temperature records every day. It is not possible that, in a scenario like this, eight Amazonian countries cannot put in a declaration, in large letters, that deforestation must be zero”, warned Marcio Astrini, from the Climate Observatory organization.
About 60% of the Amazon, the largest tropical forest in the world and whose preservation is key to the survival of the planet, is in Brazil. Deforestation in the Brazilian part of the Earth’s main lung has been reduced dramatically since Lula won the presidency from his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who favored development over conservation and allowed uncontrolled logging during his presidency. but thousands of square kilometers continue to be lost every year. The latest data provided by the Brazilian Government show that deforestation in the Amazon fell by 66% in July compared to the previous year.
The presidents of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru attended the summit, while Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela sent senior officials. Leaders from other countries with tropical forests, such as Indonesia, Congo and the Republic of Congo, also participated.
Bolivia and Venezuela are the only Amazonian countries that did not sign a 2021 agreement among more than 100 countries pledging to work to stop deforestation by 2030. A Brazilian government source told Reuters before the summit that Bolivia, where forest destruction is increasing, he was reluctant to accept a deadline. Bolivian President Luis Arce did not address the 2030 commitment in his speech on Tuesday.
Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, defended the issue of deforestation “in no way will divide the region” and mentioned “an understanding on deforestation” in the statement, but gave no further details .
The summit brought together the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ATCO) for the first time since 2009. But before it began, differences arose not only regarding deforestation, but also oil development.
The Amazonian countries rejected the campaign of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, to end the new oil exploitation in the Amazon. Petro compared the left’s desire to continue extracting oil with the right’s climate change denialism. The Colombian president defended that the idea of ??making a gradual “energy transition” from fossil fuels was a way of delaying the work needed to stop climate change.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who canceled his attendance at the summit at the last minute due to an ear infection, runs an oil-dependent economy and has shown little interest in curbing deforestation.
Brazil itself also faces its own contradictions. As Lula defends his plan to end deforestation by 2030, Brasilia weighs whether to develop a potentially huge offshore oil find near the mouth of the Amazon River.
“What we are discussing today in Brazil is the investigation of an extensive and large area; in my opinion, perhaps the last frontier of oil and gas before … the energy transition,” said Brazil’s Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira in response to Petro. Silveira defended that his Government must investigate how much oil is in this reserve before making a decision.
The summit also did not set a deadline for ending illegal gold mining, but the meeting leaders agreed to increase cooperation and better fight cross-border environmental crimes.
The final joint declaration, called the Belém Declaration, strongly supports the rights and protections of indigenous peoples, while agreeing to cooperate on water management, health, common negotiating positions at climate summits and sustainable development.
Despite the differences, the meeting has helped to unify the position of the region regarding the climate and is seen as the forerunner of the conference for Climate Change to be organized by the UN in 2025, also in Belém.
Consensus has long eluded the region, dependent on raw materials and where economic development remains the main concern due to the high level of poverty.
With this joint deal, Lula is likely to continue pushing to convince his neighbors that they are stronger as a bloc, especially amid debates over how much donor countries and development banks should help finance green transitions in developing countries. low and middle income.
“Coalition politics is back. The logic in Brasilia is that Brazil must not act alone,” said Matias Spektor, professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. The urgency of climate change means that “all the rules are being questioned,” said Ilona Szabo, president of the Igarape Institute, a think tank based in Rio de Janeiro. “Brazil is ready to negotiate the importance of the region.”
The summit started on the same day that the European Union confirmed that this month of July has been the warmest on record worldwide.
