Source: AFP
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that a controversial offshore oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River was a key development opportunity for the country.
“We want everything to be legal, with respect for the environment. But we are not going to let any opportunity to promote the development of this country pass us by,” Lula told investors from Saudi Arabia in Rio de Janeiro — one of world’s top oil producers.
Plans to explore for oil in an offshore basin near the mouth of the Amazon River have angered environmentalists and divided the Lula administration.
His own environment minister, Marina Silva, is openly opposed to the plan, and environmental protection agency IBAMA denied oil giant Petrobras an exploration permit last May.
But newly appointed Petrobras chief Magda Chambriard said last month she wanted to “accelerate” oil exploration, including in the controversial area near the mouth of the Amazon River known as the Equatorial Margin.
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Environmentalists highlight the contradiction in Lula’s advocacy of fossil fuel exploration, while positioning himself as a leading figure in the fight against global warming.
Under his leadership, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest was halved last year compared to 2022.
Brazil will host the UN climate conference COP30 next year in Belem, a city in northern Brazil considered the gateway to the Amazon.
“COP30 will be decisive for the planet. Without everyone’s efforts, global warming could reach catastrophic levels,” Lula said on Wednesday, recalling the devastation caused by historic flooding in southern Brazil last month.
Source: AFP