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By Shannon McDonagh
News Reporter
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Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to open the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday with a call for global action against climate change.
The 79th annual gathering of world leaders will see Lula deliver his message from New York.
While President Lula's ambitions to tackle climate change are clear, the current environmental situation in Brazil, marked by labyrinthine progress, has left parts of the electorate lukewarm about the country's vision for meaningful action.
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In August 2024, the Amazon rain forest recorded over 38,000 fires—the highest number for that month since 2010.
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September appears to be on track for a similarly grim record.
Lula's speech at a pre-General Assembly summit on Sunday echoed his party line for global environmental solidarity.
"Going back on our commitments is to put in jeopardy everything that we built so arduously," he said.
"The sustainable development goals were the biggest diplomatic enterprise in recent years and they are bound to become our biggest collective failure."
Smoke from the blazes has reached cities as far away as Sao Paulo, despite being thousands of miles from the fires.
This dire situation has raised concerns about the alignment between Lula's environmental rhetoric and the reality on the ground in Brazil.
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Lula has characterized the wildfires as the work of criminal actors and has proposed harsher penalties for those responsible.
"There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," he told the COP27 climate conference in November 2022.
He recently announced that anyone caught setting fires in forests will pay fines of up to $1,800 per hectare, alongside a 500 million reais ($90 million) package to combat the fires across the country.
Enforcing this has been delayed due to a six-month strike at Brazil's environmental regulator, Ibama, which ended in August—long after the administration was aware of the heightened risk of fires, exacerbated by an ongoing drought.
Environmentalists and political analysts have expressed mixed reactions to Lula's handling of the crisis.
Thomas Traumann, a political consultant in Brazil, noted that Lula's past reputation as a global champion for conservation may not resonate as strongly this time.
"Lula has always attended international gatherings with a lot to say … This time that won't ring true," he said.
"We can't say his administration is to blame for all these fires. There's a lot of support for them at the local level. But some of this would never have taken place if the Ibama strike hadn't gone for so long."
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During his first term (2003-2010), Lula forged a reputation for being serious about conservation.
He strengthened environmental agencies, particularly Ibama, which played a crucial role in enforcing deforestation laws and issuing fines for illegal logging and land clearing.
His second term as president has been marked by a series of rebuilds due to Jair Bolsonaro's rolling back of environmental protections.
The president's administration was credited with slowing deforestation by 46% in 2023.
Though encouraging, this hasn't mitigated any of the human impact that leads to record-breaking numbers of wildfires.
Conversely, Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira recently stated at an oil conference in Rio de Janeiro that Brazil is determined to tap offshore oil reserves near the mouth of the Amazon, a stance at odds with global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.
During a protest outside the oil conference, activist Tica Minami called on the government to take bolder action.
"Our government needs to be courageous and do what needs to be done for the environment and its people," she said.
"But companies also have a lot of responsibility. They are the ones profiting from the destruction of the environment."
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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