At COP31, Lula criticizes attacks on the climate regime and demands progress even without consensus

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated this Wednesday (11), during the opening of the COP31 Leaders' Summit, in Antalya, Turkey, that the lack of consensus between countries cannot prevent progress in negotiations to tackle climate change.

“The lack of consensus cannot become an obstacle to progress,” stated Lula.

In his first international speech after his re-election, the president also defended multilateralism and criticized movements contrary to international climate agreements.

“Sabotaging the climate regime is destroying the best of the multilateral system,” he said.

Lula also stated that climate change has lost space among the priorities of world leaders in the face of wars, inflation and trade disputes.

According to the president, since the beginning of this year, the topic has disappeared from speeches and documents from global leaders. Lula cited the G7 and G20 meetings and stated that concern about the climate had given way to a “new silence”.

“We started talking more about weapons and tariffs than about the survival of future generations,” he said.

Lula also said that, “with wars and inflation knocking at the door today, it is more difficult to think about tomorrow’s climate catastrophe”.

The president stated that the planet cannot be at the mercy of hegemonic disputes and cited droughts, floods, fires and rising sea levels as phenomena that already affect millions of people.

According to Lula, families lose lives, homes, jobs and livelihoods, and climate disasters cause population displacements that add to those caused by armed conflicts and economic problems.

At another point in his speech, Lula stated that COP31 will have the mission of “giving climate change the attention it deserves”.

The president also resumed COP30, held in Belém, in 2025, and recalled that he called the meeting the “COP of truth”.

According to Lula, Brazil invited the international community to say whether or not it believed in science and multilateralism. This Wednesday, he stated that both remain under attack.

The president also highlighted popular participation in the conference held in Brazil. According to him, indigenous people, quilombolas, riverside dwellers and populations that rely on the forest as a way of life gained prominence in the discussions.

Lula stated that the delegations recognized in Belém the need to move “from negotiation to implementation” of measures to combat climate change.

At the beginning of his speech, Lula stated that holding COP31 in Türkiye has “huge symbolic meaning” given the geopolitical divisions in the world.

The president related the choice of the country to the rapprochement between different peoples and cultures and said that COP31 will have the responsibility of putting climate change back at the center of international discussions.

The ceremony marks the handover of the conference presidency. Lula handed over command of the COP to Türkiye and Australia, after Brazil hosted COP30, in Belém, in 2025.

In addition to the opening of the Leaders' Summit, Lula is scheduled to participate this Wednesday in a meeting on forests and a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre.

The last event scheduled for the day is a gala dinner hosted by the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the First Lady, Emine Erdoğan.

Lula and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met on Tuesday (10). According to the Brazilian government, the two defended the expansion of trade between Brazil and Türkiye, and Lula expressed interest in establishing a “more robust defense” partnership.

At the meeting, the presidents also agreed to work for peace and the defense of multilateralism, according to the Brazilian government. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has committed to carrying out a state visit to Brazil, accompanied by a business delegation, on a date yet to be defined.