Brazil's Marina Silva calls for 'COP of truth', hopes summit sets course toward COP33 in India

New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva on Monday called for the upcoming COP30 in the Amazon to be a "COP of truth", saying it must set the course for the next decade of climate action and pave the way toward COP33 in India "in a less challenging and more promising context".

Silva criticised countries that undermine global cooperation, citing the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement under the Trump administration.

While Brazil adopts a pragmatic approach to climate change, she stressed that it would continue to hold accountable those lagging behind, including countries engaged in tariff wars that undermine collective action.

"The case of the United States that left the Paris Agreement is forcing us to work double," she said.

Speaking at the Asia Dialogue of the Global Ethical Stocktake (GES) virtually to an audience in New Delhi, which was also attended by COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, Silva pressed for honesty in negotiations.

"Sometimes we are afraid of the truth. It does not mean that we want lies, but we do not want to see the truth. President (Luiz Inacio) Lula (da Silva) has been saying that he wants this COP to be the COP of truth, and Brazil will help it to be so," she said.

Silva stressed that the demand comes not only from leaders but also from citizens. She highlighted the case of a 19-year-old activist who had petitioned for a "COP of truth", calling this convergence "a mark of hope".

Silva said the summit should lay the foundation for a decade of stronger action. "We are going to work so that we can create a new way for the next 10 years in the decisions that we have implemented," she said, expressing hope that COP30 will pave the way toward COP33 in India "in a less challenging and more promising context".

India has pitched to host COP33 in 2028.

Silva emphasised that nature is reaching its limits. "Nature is giving a great contribution for facing climate change but at this point, nature is also asking for help, because the way we are dealing with it is undermining its capacity of self-regeneration," she warned.

At COP30, scheduled to be held in Belem in November, she said Brazil expects governments to review commitments under the Paris Agreement, assess new national climate pledges (NDCs) and strengthen climate finance.

If the pledges submitted in September fall short of the 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway, Silva said, "We are able to create a task force with high ambition and high commitment to see what we are going to do with the NDCs." She listed Brazil's priorities -- tripling renewable energy, doubling energy efficiency, halting deforestation, phasing out fossil fuels and securing the "means of implementation" for developing countries.

"COP30 is not the COP of Brazil, but the COP of 188 countries in this great mutirao (joint effort)," she said.

But Silva also warned of risks beyond the environment.

"Besides working not to get to the point of no return concerning climate, forests and water resources, we also have to prevent that we get to the point of no return in the multilateral relations," she said, stressing that COP30 must strengthen global cooperation rather than eroding it.

She added that the GES, one of the mobilisation pillars of COP30, is a vital moral compass.

"The facts and reality are embarrassing us because we cannot opt for the destruction of this planet. We cannot opt to see 5,000 people losing their lives due to heat waves and we cannot show that the rivers in the Amazon are now dry," Silva said.

Highlighting the ethical dimension of a just transition, she said the process must include those who depend on deforestation for survival.

"When we say it is a just transition, it is supposed to be just for everybody -- just for those who have to stop deforesting but cannot because they do not have the resources to feed their families," Silva said. Brazil, she noted, is working on a global finance mechanism to reward forest protection through payments for ecosystem services and ensure fairness in phasing out fossil fuels.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kailash Satyarthi, who co-leads the Asia Dialogue, opened the event with an appeal.

"Our Mother Earth is crying. Our home is burning. How long can we remain deaf and silent? We are living in a world of paradox: we have more knowledge, more wealth and more solutions than ever before, yet the most marginalised continue to suffer," he said.

Calling climate change "not just a crisis but climate injustice", Satyarthi said, "The richest 1 per cent of the world have produced twice as much CO2 as the poorest half of the world. I have seen first hand how climate injustice devastates the lives of children and women." He urged leaders to respond with compassion -- not only for people but for nature itself.

"We must be compassionate not just to people, but to the five elements of nature, which are earth, water, fire, air and space," he said.

The Asia Dialogue is the third in a series of regional consultations under the GES, which aims to bring a moral and ethical lens to climate negotiations, aligning those with science and the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. PTI UZM RC