A striking contrast is defining the climate summit in Brazil: while President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is successfully securing billions for forest protection, the leaders of the world’s top polluting nations have gone missing in action.
Lula’s government announced $5.5 billion in pledges for his “Tropical Forests Forever Facility.” This ambitious fund aims to pay 74 developing nations to halt deforestation. Norway has led the charge with a $3 billion commitment, with Germany expected to follow, giving Lula a significant early victory.
The fund’s innovative design uses interest-bearing debt, not donations, to make preservation a more profitable venture than destruction. It also allocates 20 percent of its funds to Indigenous communities, the long-time guardians of the forests.
However, this financial momentum is being severely undercut by political division. The leaders of the planet’s three biggest polluters—the United States, China, and India—all skipped the preliminary gathering in the Amazonian city of Belem.
This “reduced participation” prompted a harsh rebuke from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who warned of “deadly negligence” and “moral failure.” The question hanging over Belem is whether Lula’s financial coalition can succeed without the world’s biggest players on board.
