UN Secretary-General António Guterres set a somber and urgent tone at the Brazil climate summit, delivering a harsh critique of world powers he said “remain captive to the fossil fuel interests.” His speech highlighted the deep divisions hampering global climate action.
Guterres warned that any failure to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the key Paris Agreement benchmark, would represent a “moral failure and deadly negligence.” His words carried extra weight as the leaders of the planet’s three biggest polluters—China, the United States, and India—were absent from the preliminary gathering.
The summit, held in the Amazonian city of Belem, is the platform for Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to propose a new path forward. He is seeking support for the “Tropical Forests Forever Facility,” a fund to pay 74 developing countries to preserve their rainforests.
Lula’s plan is based on a new economic model, using loans from wealthy nations to make forest preservation more lucrative than destruction. This innovative approach aims to protect the massive carbon-absorbing power of forests for the benefit of the entire planet.
Despite the political rifts, the fund is gaining financial support. Brazilian officials announced $5.5 billion in pledges, with $3 billion from Norway alone. The fund also includes a significant provision, dedicating 20 percent of its resources to Indigenous peoples who have long stewarded the lands.