Following talks at the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Summit in the city of Belém, COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and Brazil’s President, Lula da Silva, have expressed their joint commitment to deliver a more equitable climate future, by putting nature at the core of the climate agenda at COP28.
Both parties have expressed an intention to build a bridge to enable inclusive, resilient and lasting climate progress. This comes on the back of Dr Sultan’s recently announced COP28 plan to fast-track an orderly and equitable energy transition; fix climate finance; focus on people, lives and livelihoods and underpin everything with full inclusivity.
During the talks, Al Jaber and da Silva reaffirmed the vital importance of protecting the Amazon rainforest to keep 1.5°C within reach, according to a statement.
They also agreed on a range of issues, including fighting deforestation and degradation, enhancing the bioeconomy, and strengthening adaptation actions; promoting low carbon agriculture practices and intensifying bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas such as food, health, science, technology, and innovation.
However, reforming international climate finance and bolstering clean energy deployment were identified as particular areas of joint focus to be pursued from COP28 through to COP30.
Commenting Al Jaber said: “President Lula da Silva is bringing the energy, focus and drive we need to meet the urgency of the moment. In the first half of 2023 alone, he has cut deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon by 34%, and it is this strong and robust leadership that can deliver substantive outcomes in the real world.
“Alongside President da Silva, I call on other leaders to bring the same energy and ambition to COP28, and in particular, to unite around decisive action and achieve game-changing results on climate finance and the global energy transition.”
They agreed on a range of issues, including fighting deforestation and degradation, enhancing the bioeconomy and strengthening adaptation actions; promoting low carbon agriculture practices and intensifying bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas such as food, health, science, technology, and innovation
ACTO unites Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela in a shared ambition to promote the preservation of the Amazon basin and regulate Amazonian development.
Expressing his commitment to support South-South cooperation and the alliance between Brazil and other tropical forest regions including Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo., Al Jaber urged that stronger united effort must now take place at COP28.
This is to raise ambition for progress across all climate pillars and build a bridge to a sustainable future, particularly in the area of international finance.
He said: “We need to expand available, accessible and affordable finance to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and ensure that adequate finance meets the needs of nature.
“This Presidency will keep the pressure on donor countries to fulfill the overdue 100 billion pledge and seek to ensure that a designated portion of these funds is directed to nature and forest protection.”
As part of the COP28 Presidency delegation to Brazil, Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for COP28, emphasized the inextricable link between addressing climate change and nature loss.
“We have just over six years to simultaneously reverse biodiversity loss, halve emissions, enhance adaptation, and advance equity. This transformation needs to be inclusive, nature positive and with justice at its heart,” said Ms. Al Mubarak. “It is my strong conviction that investing in nature is the most cost-effective mitigation and adaptation solution for climate change.”
She also stressed the critical inclusion and support for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the development of collective climate and nature solutions.
She added: “We must all recognize the fundamental role of IPLCs in protecting the world’s most biodiverse and ecologically important areas.
“Over 75% of forests are protected by indigenous peoples and local communities, yet only 17% of funds allocated in the last ten years included an Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities organization. Indigenous Peoples need access to resources to maintain their self-determined climate actions.”
