Brazil will lead on climate, ex-minister says

Da Silva’s election puts rainforest in spotlight

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Marina Silva, a former environmental minister and potential candidate for the job again, on Saturday brought a message to the U.N. climate summit : Brazil is back when it comes to protecting the Amazon rainforest, the largest in the world and crucial to limiting global warming.

The recent election of leftist President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva represents a potentially huge shift in how Brazil manages the forest compared to current President Jair Bolsonaro. Da Silva was expected next week to attend the conference known as COP27 in Sharm elsheikh, Egypt.

Silva said the fact that da Silva was coming to the summit, months before he assumes power Jan. 1, was an indication of the commitment of his administration to protect forests and take a leadership role on combating climate change.

Bolsonaro pushed development of the Amazon, both in his actions and rhetoric. Environmental agencies were weakened, and he appointed forest managers from the agribusiness sector. The deforested area in Brazil’s Amazon reached a 15-year high from August 2020 to July 2021, according to official figures.

Upon winning the October elections, da Silva, president between 2003 and 2010, promised to overhaul Bolsonaro’s policies and move toward completely stopping deforestation.

While much of the world celebrates policies that protect the rainforest in Brazil and other countries in South America, there are myriad forces pushing for development. lva began catering to agribusiness interests, and in 2008 Marina Silva resigned.

Given the moniker “OPEC of the Forests,” in reference to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the way they regulate oil production, the general idea would be for these three countries to coordinate their negotiating positions and practices on forest management and biodiversity protection. The proposal was initially floated during last year’s climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, according to the reports.

Silva also said she had proposed a government body to focus on climate change.

Nariman El-mofty The Associated Press Brazil’s Marina Silva, a former environmental minister, speaks Saturday during a session at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit in Sharm el-sheikh, Egypt.