© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a nationwide assertion on the World Local weather Motion Summit throughout the United Nations Local weather Change Convention (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Thaier Al Sudan
By Jake Spring
(Reuters) – Brazil won’t ever be part of the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations as a full member and as a substitute solely seeks to take part as an observer, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated on Sunday.
Lula’s remarks to reporters on the U.N. COP28 local weather summit in Dubai clarified his statements a day earlier that Brazil would “participate” in OPEC+.
“Brazil should join OPEC+, it could be an observer,” Lula stated on Sunday. “Brazil will never be a full member of OPEC, because we don’t want to be. What we want is to influence.”
Environmentalists in Brazil and overseas have criticized Lula’s administration for pitching itself as a local weather chief because of its success in reining in deforestation within the Amazon (NASDAQ:) rainforest, whereas nonetheless transferring forward with plans to drill huge offshore oil finds.
Emissions from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal are thought-about the precept reason behind local weather change.
Lula stated that it will be important for Brazil to take part in OPEC+ as a way to advocate that international locations wealthy from oil proceeds make investments a few of that cash in serving to poor creating international locations in Africa and Latin America to spend money on renewable vitality akin to photo voltaic and wind.
“I think that in participating this way, we will convince people that a part of the money made from oil should be invested for us to nullify oil, creating alternatives,” Lula stated. “There is no contradiction.”
Brazil’s state-run petroleum firm Petrobras is not going to hand over exploring for oil as a result of fossil fuels will proceed to be part of the worldwide economic system for a while to come back, Lula stated. Petrobras will proceed to do what it must do to assist Brazil develop, however will develop past simply oil to all vitality, Lula added.
On Saturday, the president stated Brazil would use its affect in OPEC+
Lula left the COP28 summit on Sunday, touring to Berlin for the primary Brazil-German authorities talks in eight years.
