Fight fake news and defeat climate deniers, Brazil’s Lula tells UN talks

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the inaugural session of the UN climate conference that the world needs to “defeat” climate denialism and combat fake news.

President Lula once more alluded to President Donald Trump, who called climate change “a con job” in September, in a rallying cry for COP30.

Monday marked the start of the two-week negotiations in the verdant Brazilian city of Belém, which is situated near the Amazon jungle.

Thousands of delegates flocked to the COP venue on Monday, which is a heavily air-conditioned old airport. Some of them arrived from lodging in shipping containers and cruise ships docked on the riverbank. They take place against a tense political backdrop, and the United States has not sent any top officials.

Members of the Guajajara indigenous group, in traditional dress, performed a welcome song and dance for assembled diplomats.

Addressing the conference, President Lula said “COP30 will be the COP of truth” in an era of “fake news and misrepresentation” and “rejection of scientific evidence”.

Without naming President Trump, President Lula continued, “they control the algorithms, sow hatred and spread fear”.

“It’s time to inflict a new defeat on the deniers,” he said.

President Trump has pledged to make significant investments in fossil fuels since taking office in January, claiming that doing so will ensure increased economic success for the United States.

More than $13 billion in funding for renewable energy has been canceled by his administration, which is also moving to allow oil and gas drilling in more US regions.

This puts the nation at odds with most other countries that are still dedicated to investing in green energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. In light of this, the COP negotiations are in a challenging position as countries strive to address climate change without the involvement of the largest economy in the world. Some delegations worry that the US might yet choose to deploy representatives to sabotage the negotiations.

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), President Lula’s main initiative, aims to generate $125 billion to save tropical forests worldwide.

The fund-raising process began slowly. Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, abruptly declared last week that the country will not provide public funds. Climate change advocacy groups, such as the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) coalition, which primarily includes Caribbean and Pacific nations, have requested that the negotiations address the long-standing objective.

Even the UN has acknowledged that overshooting this temperature is “inevitable” in recent weeks. António Guterres, the UN General Secretary General, told leaders in Belém last week that it was a “moral failure and deadly negligence” to fail to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.