Latest news with #CorrêadoLago
Irish Examiner
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
World faces new danger of 'economic denial' in climate fight, Cop30 head says
The world is facing a new form of climate denial – not the dismissal of climate science, but a concerted attack on the idea that the economy can be re-organised to fight the crisis, the president of global climate talks has warned. André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian diplomat who will direct this year's UN summit, Cop30, believes his biggest job will be to counter the attempt from some vested interests to prevent climate policies aimed at shifting the global economy to a low-carbon footing. 'There is a new kind of opposition to climate action. We are facing a discredit of climate policies. I don't think we are facing climate denial,' he said, referring to the increasingly desperate attempts to pretend there is no consensus on climate science that have plagued climate action for the past 30 years. It's not a scientific denial, it's an economic denial. This economic denial could be just as dangerous and cause as much delay as repeated attempts to deny climate science in previous years, he warned. As the climate crisis has gathered pace, temperatures have risen and the effects of extreme weather have become more obvious, scientists have been able to draw ever more clearly the links between greenhouse gas emissions and our impacts on the planet. So the argument has shifted, Corrêa do Lago believes, from undermining or misrepresenting the science to attempts to counter climate policy. 'It is not possible to have [scientific] denialism at this stage, after everything that has happened in recent years. So there is a migration from scientific denial to a denial that economic measures against climate change can be good for the economy and for people.' The rise of populist politicians around the world has fuelled a backlash against climate policy, most clearly seen in the presidency of Donald Trump in the US, where he has set about cancelling policies intended to boost renewable energy and cut greenhouse gases, and dismantling all forms of government-sponsored climate-related institutions, including scientific research labs. Corrêa do Lago wants to spur a new global effort to persuade people that remodelling the economy away from a reliance on fossil fuels and towards a clean energy future will reap benefits for all people. 'The new populism is trying to show [that tackling the climate crisis does not work],' he said. 'It's the turn of those who believe in the fight against climate change to show and to prove that fighting climate change is possible, and that it can come with economic advantages and with a better quality of life.' Corrêa do Lago faces the task of corralling 196 nations into producing new national plans on greenhouse gas emissions within the next few months, and meanwhile Brazil is already wrestling with the logistical challenges of holding Cop30 in a rainforest. There was controversy earlier this year over a road being built through the forest to the city, though Brazilian officials said the road had already been planned before Cop30 was awarded to Belém. There are also concerns about the environmental credentials of the Brazilian president as his government continues to approve mines and oil drilling projects. The Guardian Read More UN told current Cop is no longer fit to deliver climate change
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump's assault on climate make UN talks an ‘uphill battle', says Cop30 chair
Crucial United Nations climate talks this year will be a 'slightly uphill battle' due to economic turmoil and Donald Trump's removal of the US from the effort to tackle global heating, the chair of the upcoming summit has admitted. Governments from around the world will gather in Belem, Brazil, in November for the Cop30 meeting, where they will be expected to unveil new plans to deal with the climate crisis and slash greenhouse gas emissions. Very few countries have done so yet, however, and the world remains well off track to remain within agreed temperature limits designed to avert the worst consequences of climate breakdown. It's not clear what, if any, presence the US will have at the talks after Trump, who calls climate change 'a giant hoax', removed the world's leading economic power from the Paris climate agreement and set about demolishing environmental regulations at home. A trade war triggered by Trump has also caused concerns over a global economic downturn, further distracting leaders from the task of cutting emissions. This backdrop will make the Cop talks challenging, its president André Corrêa do Lago conceded. 'I think it's going to be a slightly uphill battle,' the Brazilian diplomat said in New York on Tuesday. 'Let's say that the international context could help a little more.' Asked about the fear that other countries will also scale back their plans to address the climate crisis, Corrêa do Lago said that none have said they will do so officially. 'But there is obviously some that say, 'God, how am I going to convince my people that I have to try to lower emissions if the richest country in the world is not doing the same?,'' he said. Corrêa do Lago said that invites have yet to be sent to the US, so he does not know who will attend from the Trump administration. The focus at Cop, Corrêa do Lago said, will be on highlighting how the shift to cleaner energy and protecting forests provide tangible economic benefits to people. 'That's why we wanted to be a Cop of solutions, a Cop of action, and not so much a Cop in which you're going to negotiate documents that you don't know if they're going to be implemented,' he said. 'We negotiated so many things under the Paris accord, including about renewables, about energy efficiency, about transitioning away from fossil fuels, about ending deforestation. I believe that there are enough agreements on those things, now we have to translate that into the economy and into people's lives.' Countries will again discuss climate finance at Cop30 but there remains a 'very strong divide' between developed and developing countries on this issue, Corrêa do Lago said, with poorer nations urging those countries most responsible for the climate crisis to provide more funding to help deal with the impact of flooding, heatwaves, droughts and other mounting disasters. Small Pacific island states also recently called for rich countries to hurry up and submit their new climate plans. China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, is 'demonstrating an absolute conviction that it's the right way to go and to incorporate climate into their economic growth', according to Corrêa do Lago. Xi Jinping, China's president, has said that his country will 'not slow down its climate actions' despite Trump's backtracking on cutting carbon pollution. Corrêa do Lago was speaking at a BloombergNEF event which featured several gloomy comments from speakers about the US' retreat from dealing with the climate crisis and the uncertainty this has caused for clean energy developers. States, cities and businesses within the US are still pushing ahead with the energy transition despite Trump's actions, insisted Gina McCarthy, Joe Biden's top climate adviser. 'Yes we need to recognize that we have a president who wants to deny climate, yes we have tremendous challenges moving forward but we have incredible opportunities,' McCarthy said. 'Clean energy is not gone, it may have gone quiet but businesses are still jumping in to make the investments to protect our future and our kids. That is what gives me hope.'
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US will be ‘central' to climate fight even without Trump, says Cop30 president
The US will be 'central' to solving the climate crisis despite Donald Trump's withdrawal of government support and cash, the president of the next UN climate summit has said. André Corrêa do Lago, president-designate of the Cop30 summit for the host country, Brazil, hinted that businesses and other organisations in the US could play a constructive role without the White House. 'We have no idea of ignoring the US,' he told journalists on a call on Friday. 'The US is a key country in this exercise. There is the US government, which will limit its participation [but] the US is a country with such amazing technology, amazing innovation – this is the US that can contribute. The US is a central country for these discussions and solutions.' Brazil has also vowed to hold an 'ethical stocktake' aimed at examining climate justice issues, for poor and vulnerable people, and to give Indigenous people a key role at the talks. Corrêa do Lago wrote to all UN countries on Monday, setting out Brazil's expectations that all governments will draw up national plans for steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions before the conference starts in Belem, a rainforest city at the mouth of the Amazon, in November. 'Cop30 will be the first [summit] to take place at the epicentre of the climate crisis, and the first to be hosted in the Amazon, one of the world's most vital ecosystems, now at risk of reaching an irreversible tipping point, according to scientists,' the letter said. 'Change is inevitable, either by choice or catastrophe.' As well as the formal negotiations at the summit in which only national governments can take part, there will be forums for regional and local governments – including those from the US – and for businesses and investors. Corrêa do Lago said these would be essential for progress because the Cop should involve an ongoing process of implementing climate action, rather than simply a focus on two weeks of technical negotiations. 'There is a perception these Cops are just about negotiation,' he said. 'But we believe that accelerating implementation [of previously agreed actions] is very important. Let's see how we can accelerate what we have already agreed.' Brazil faces one of the worst geopolitical situations of any 'conference of the parties' (Cop) since the UN framework convention on climate change, parent treaty to the 2015 Paris agreement, was signed in 1992. Trump has not only begun the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris accord, but is also rescinding climate finance pledged to the developing world, and dismantling federal support for climate science. Trump's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting rearmament of Europe which is under way, have left the developed world in turmoil. Many developing countries are concerned that they will be left further behind, amid the wrangling of the biggest economies. Ana Toni, chief executive of Cop30, pointed to the outcome of the recently reconvened conference of the parties to the UN convention on biological diversity, which produced agreement on a plan to finance nature protection. 'It was a really challenging moment, but we did see agreement,' she pointed out. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Many investors and businesses were expressing an interest in Cop30, she added. 'We need to ensure [country's emission-cutting] plans are investable and implementable,' she said. 'We have had some very, very positive engagement with investors so far. They know the transition [to a low-carbon economy] is inevitable, and are looking for places where investments can be made.' As well as setting out why stiff emissions cuts are needed, and urging governments to take drastic action to avoid climate catastrophe, Brazil's letter to all governments pointedly referred to the spirit that defeated the Nazis in the second world war. Quoting Hannah Arendt, the philosopher who studied Hitler and his associates, it said: 'Arendt denounced the 'banality of evil' as the acceptance of what was unacceptable. Now, we face the 'banality of inaction', an irresponsible and unacceptable inaction.' The letter also invoked the Brazilian concepts of 'mutirão', which comes from the Tupi-Guarani language, and refers to a community coming together to work on shared task, and 'virada', which means fighting back in a game when defeat seems almost certain.
Zawya
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
COP30 President highlights UAE-Brazil-Azerbaijan alliance as key to strengthening climate governance
ABU DHABI - The alliance between the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, and Brazil— the COP28 president and successors— has been a success, strengthening global climate cooperation, said Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, according to Agência Brasil. Speaking at an informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, the COP30 President-Designate highlighted the first edition of the Global Stocktake—delivered during COP28—as one of the key achievements. The mechanism is designed to assess progress towards long-term climate goals. 'The GST is our guide for the 1.5°C mission, in our collective project to implement the vision of the [Climate] Convention and the Paris Agreement—the vision of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change. All of this always in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty,' he stressed. Corrêa do Lago stated that strengthening multilateralism instruments is the path to reversing dangerous human interference with the planet. 'The choice of the General Assembly as my first official trip outside Brazil is no coincidence but a clear signal that the defence of multilateralism will be at the core of the Brazilian presidency of this COP. Respect for science would be another pillar of our presidency,' he noted. The COP30 President-Designate also declared that the summit, in November, to be held in the Amazonian city of Belém, in the state of Pará, should mark a decisive transition from the negotiation phase to effective efforts in action and implementation. 'The task ahead of us is to strengthen climate governance and provide agility, preparedness and foresight in both decision-making and implementation,' he said. According to Corrêa do Lago, Brazil expects COP30 to provide a decisive boost in three dimensions: protecting and expanding the institutional legacy of the Climate Convention; connecting negotiations and political decisions to real life; and accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement through structural solutions and initiatives that extend beyond multilateral climate action, including global governance and financial architecture. For the COP30 President-Designate, this includes the delivery of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which had their deadline extended after a low submission rate by the original cut-off in February. 'National leaders must honour their determination to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Human lives depend on it. Future jobs depend on it. Healthy environments depend on it,' he said.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Road to Belém: COP30 President on Trump, Trade, and What Comes Next
André Correa Do Lago, Secretary of Climate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, speaks during the Global Citizen Panels Fireside Chats on Nov. 17, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro. Credit - Buda Mendes for Global Citizen—Getty Images On the day I spoke by phone with André Corrêa do Lago, the newly appointed head of this year's United Nations climate conference, countries worldwide faced a deadline to publish new plans to tackle climate change. By that evening, only 13 had done so. It's a startling number. The deadline applied to all 195 nations signed up to the Paris climate agreement. And it underscores the uphill challenge facing Corrêa do Lago, a Brazilian diplomat who previously served as the country's chief climate negotiator. His job: to help foster collaboration and bring about fresh agreement in a world riven by populist nationalists intent on driving climate change down the global priority list. 'I naturally believe very much in multilateralism, and we believe that the only way of solving important issues is through cooperation,' Corrêa do Lago told me from Rio de Janeiro, as he prepares to host what will be the thirtieth such meeting—hence the name COP30—in the Amazonian city of Belém this November. 'But the international context is quite complex.' Central to the 'complex' road ahead for him is the U.S. and the new Trump Administration, which he diplomatically called 'challenging.' Back in power in Washington D.C., Trump has once again initiated the process to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and it remains unclear what presence—if any—the country will have at UN climate talks. 'We have to wait a little to see some of the directions that these policies are going to take,' Corrêa do Lago says of the U.S. Read More: What Whiplash U.S. Climate Policy Means for Business He does however remain optimistic about preventing further withdrawals from the Paris accord. Unlike traditional treaties, he notes, Paris relies on voluntary commitments rather than enforcement mechanisms. While some critics view this as a weakness, he argues it actually discourages withdrawal: countries gain little by leaving but risk facing trade barriers from climate-conscious partners. He has previously said that Argentina withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would threaten the joint trade deal between the European Union and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Indeed, trade is a key area of contention. Many developing and emerging market countries have expressed concern over the European Union's measure to charge a carbon fee on certain imports. U.S. tariffs, and the threat of more to come, on longtime allies and rivals have also put a spotlight on the topic. Thus far, trade has played a largely peripheral role in UN climate negotiations, though last year Brazil and others sought to elevate it on the agenda. Corrêa do Lago cited it very early in our conversation as a key point of contention for countries and said that 'starting to build some consensus on some of the issues of trade' would be 'extremely important.' Underlying such concerns is what for proponents of global action on climate change, such as Corrêa do Lago, is a sobering reality: the costs of climate policy, both real and perceived, have slowed progress in many places as voters turn to populist politicians who oppose multilateral action–and in some cases, outright deny the realities and consequences of a changing climate. To help keep momentum alive, Corrêa do Lago says he wants to refocus attention on not just solving the climate conundrum, but also, in a sense, selling its benefits. 'This transition has to be dealt with in a rational way,' he says. 'There are challenges for many sectors, and it can even eliminate many jobs… we have to make sure that we can convince people that this can bring very positive impacts.' Part of that involves courting what has become an increasingly important constituency for climate leaders: the private sector. The role of business has become ever more prominent at UN climate conferences in recent years as the focus of climate talks has shifted to implementation. And Corrêa do Lago says there will be a substantial role for the private sector this year, too. 'We want to focus on solutions,' he says. 'And probably most of the solutions come from the private sector.' The first challenge here will be making the private sector feel welcome–quite literally. Choosing Belém to host the conference—a remote city with limited accommodations and infrastructure—has led some beyond Brazil to ask whether the city will be able to support a big corporate turnout. Corrêa do Lago reassured companies that the hosts would facilitate the presence of industry. 'We want the private sector to have an absolutely central role,' he says. 'And we will make sure that the private sector will have accommodations and will be very welcome.' Read More: AI Could Reshape Everything We Know About Climate Change Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the location would make the COP different from many of recent predecessors. 'The symbolism of doing the COP in the Amazon, President Lula believes and I totally agree, is much more important than the infrastructure difficulties that may arise from it,' he says. The COP president job is a slog. For the next several months, Corrêa do Lago will hit the road traveling around the world to meet with key stakeholders sounding out positions and trying to build consensus. And yet the job has never been more urgent with global temperatures topping the 1.5°C goal laid out by the Paris Agreement and a slew of devastating climate linked events signaling the future we have in store. Write to Justin Worland at
