During the announcement of new names for the Transition Cabinet, the vice-president-elect, Geraldo Alckmin, highlighted that the fight against deforestation will be a priority of the new government and, therefore, the president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is on his way to United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, COP27. 
Lula left this morning (14th) for Egypt, at the invitation of the president hosting the meeting. He will make a statement on Wednesday (16) in the United Nations (UN) area, the Blue Zone. He also fulfills an agenda with governors of states in the Amazon region and with representatives of civil society.
“This is a big concern. Carbon emissions, in the case of Brazil, if you add the exhaust from motorcycles, cars, planes, speedboats, trains, cattle, dumps, sewers, factory chimneys, that adds up to a little more 50%. Deforestation alone is almost 50%. It is of an impressive gravity”, recalled Alckmin.
He made reference to the forests of Brazil, Indonesia and Congo, which are fundamental for combating climate change, as they have vast areas of tropical forests. The Brazilian government announced an alliance with these countries to “enhance biodiversity and fair remuneration for environmental services”.
Alckmin reinforced that data from the Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Legal Amazon by Satellite (Prodes) are being requested, referring to August 2021 to July 2022. “These numbers already exist, but they are not being disclosed”, he pointed out. He recalled proposals made during Lula’s presidential campaign that included, among other issues, the recovery of environmental agencies, which, according to him, “were practically demobilized.”
Aloizio Mercadante, who coordinates the Technical Groups of the Transition Cabinet and was minister in the PT governments, in areas such as Education, Civil House and Science and Technology, spoke about negotiations for the release of resources from the Amazon Fund.
“The Amazon Fund has about R$ 3 billion today, which are prevented from being released because of the Brazilian government’s lack of commitment to combating deforestation. We have already had conversations with the government of Germany and Norway, which must authorize, on the day following the inauguration, the release of funds”, he projected.
Created in 2008, the fund receives donations from international institutions and governments to finance actions to prevent and combat deforestation in the Legal Amazon. In 2019, Germany and Norway suspended transfers to new projects after the Brazilian government presented suggestions for changing the application of resources and extinguishing collegiate fund management.
On the last 3rd, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined that the federal government reactivates the Amazon Fund?? By decision of the Court, the Union has a period of 60 days to comply with the measure.
Schedule
On Wednesday (16), Lula will participate, at 11:00 am local time (6:00 am Brasília time), in the event Letter from the Amazon – a common agenda for the climate transition. Governors of states in the North region will be present: Antônio Waldez Góes da Silva, from Amapá; Gladson de Lima Cameli, from Acre; Mauro Mendes, from Mato Grosso; Helder Barbalho, from Pará; Wanderlei Barbosa, from Tocantins; and Marcos Rocha, from Rondônia.
On the same day, at 5:15 pm (12:15 pm in Brasilia time) Lula makes a speech at COP27, in the UN area, the Blue Zone.
On Thursday (17), at 10:00 am (5:00 am in Brasília time), the president-elect will meet with representatives of Brazilian civil society, at the Brazil Hub. At 15:00 (10:00 in Brasília) the meeting will be with the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples and the Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change.
On Friday (18), Lula will travel to Portugal, where he will meet with Portuguese authorities. He returns to Brazil at the weekend.
