Brazil calls on Caribbean countries to 'arrive united' at COP30

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked, this Friday (13), representatives of 16 Caribbean countries to arrive united at COP30, the largest United Nations climate conference, chaired this year by Brazil.

During a summit in Brasilia, Brazil and Caribbean countries seek to align positions in the fight against global warming, to which island nations are especially vulnerable.

The energy transition is also on the agenda, as is the security crisis in Haiti.

“We need to arrive at COP 30 united,” said Lula during the opening ceremony of the meeting at the Itamaraty Palace.

COP30 will be held in November, in Belém, and the Planalto Palace highlighted the importance of resources from the richest countries to finance the energy transition in the rest of the world.

Representatives from the 14 countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are participating in Friday's summit, along with the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, and the Vice President of Cuba, Salvador Valdés.

“Adapting to climate change and compensating for losses and damages is an existential issue for small island countries,” said Lula.

Participating countries are expected to issue a statement calling for “more climate finance,” according to Ambassador Gisela Padovan of the Secretariat for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The countries will also discuss the energy transition, an issue that Padovan says is not easy in a region as heavily dependent on oil as the Caribbean.

Brazil has been criticized by environmentalists for pushing ahead with oil exploration projects on its territory while urging the world to protect the environment.

The Lula government argues that oil revenues are essential to finance the energy transition.

Both Brazil and Caribbean countries are especially vulnerable to extreme weather events associated, according to experts, with global warming.

In 2024, deadly floods hit Rio Grande do Sul, followed by a historic drought that triggered a wildfire crisis.

Meanwhile, the island nations of the Caribbean are threatened by rising sea levels.

Haiti, without a president or parliament amid a serious crisis of gang violence, will be represented at the summit by the president of the Transitional Presidential Council, Fritz Alphonse Jean.

According to Lula, “Brazil supports the UN assuming part of the financing of the Multinational Security Mission”, which has been in Haiti since June 2024 and faces an alarming lack of resources.

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