Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco to read his prepared remarks at a forest leaders’ summit during COP31 in Turkey on Wednesday, Nov. 11, because his voice was hoarse. (Foto: Instagram)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did not deliver a speech at a leaders’ summit on forests during the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP31, in Turkey on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Because his voice was hoarse, he asked Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco to read the prepared remarks.
Lula had already sounded hoarse during the opening ceremony for the COP31 leaders’ meeting earlier that day. He has been experiencing voice problems since the end of the election campaign and took several days off to recover. He was scheduled to give another speech later Wednesday.
In the address read by Capobianco, Lula said countries with tropical forests should play a leading role in climate decisions. He also called the idea that environmental conservation is incompatible with countries’ development “misguided.”
Lula identified three major climate challenges: overcoming poverty, a lack of climate financing and what he described as a “lack of leadership.” He criticized the removal of climate action from the agendas of the Group of Seven and Group of 20 in 2026, saying the planet could not wait while wars and trade conflicts consumed scarce time and resources.
He also warned that countries’ failure to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing their economies posed “a serious threat to tropical forests.” If those ecosystems pass a point of no return, he said, the global climate balance could be disrupted. Lula said protecting and developing the Amazon would remain central during his fourth term.
