The first international trip of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this week signposted a stark impending change in Brazil’s position on climate change - especially the issue of deforestation of the Amazon - when he succeeds President Jair Bolsonaro on 1 January. From 14-17 November, Lula took part in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he pledged to do “whatever it takes” to pursue net zero deforestation in the Amazon, to find sustainable economic alternatives for local Amazonian populations, and to give Brazil a leadership role in efforts against global warming. While the change in Brazil owes to a new government, in Mexico, the region’s other heavyweight, the incumbent government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a significant shift in its position, although its tight embrace of fossil fuels looks somewhat incongruous alongside its ambitious new climate goals. End of preview - This article contains approximately 1775 words.
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